Sleep deprivation in nursing students: The negative impact for quality and safety

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this pilot study was to understand nursing students' perception of the relationship between sleep deprivation and learning, and personal and patient safety when in a clinical or work setting. Methods: Design: The researchers used a cross-sectional correlational design. Setting: The study was conducted in a Midwestern state university school of nursing with an average of 400 undergraduate pre-licensure nursing students. Sample: All 328 undergraduate pre-licensure nursing students were invited to participate in the study. The convenience sample of 179 (response rate of 55%) pre-licensure, nursing students completed the study. Methodology: The Sleep Deprivation of Nursing Students, a 4-point Likert scale questionnaire, consisted of demographic questions and forty-five questions on personal sleep habits, caffeine/stimulant use, and sleep inducing aids, motor vehicle safety, spare time activities, and safety during work and clinical experiences. Results: One hundred and fifty-five (n = 155) students needed seven or more hours of sleep daily to feel rested, but received less than 5 hours/day. All participants reported (n = 179) feeling sleep deprived. Sleep inducing aids were used by (n = 56) participants, and (n = 35) took stimulants to stay awake. Students (n = 166) worked 8 or more hours at a job, and (n = 158) had at some 12 hour school clinical rotations, and (n = 64) reported a combined clinical and work of five to greater than 12 consecutive days. Students (n = 172) believed they provided safe practice at work and (n = 174) and safe practice in a clinical setting. Some students reported being awake 17-19 hours. The majority of students (n = 144) believed 12-hour-clinicals were too long, yet more than half of the students preferred 12-hour work and clinical experiences. Conclusions: Nursing students may lack the knowledge that chronic sleep deprivation may result in personal and patient safety issues when in a clinical or work setting. Students are potentially exposing themselves to acute and chronic health problems as a result of sleep deprivation and the use of substances to remain awake or obtain sleep. Nurse educators and nurse managers must collaborate to reduce the number of consecutive clinical and work shifts, limit overtime hours, and better educate students on the negative impact of sleep deprivation.

Teaching accelerated nursing students’ self‐care: A pilot project

“…Sleep deprivation in nursing students was examined by Thomas, McIntosh, Lamar, and Allen () with a sample of 179 undergraduate pre‐licensure nursing students. The methodology applied was The Sleep Deprivation of Nursing Students, which is 4‐point Likert scale questionnaire that contained 45 questions that addressed motor vehicle safety, safety during work and clinical experiences, use of sleep‐inducing aids, personal sleep habits, caffeine stimulant use and spare time activities.…”

“…Sleep deprivation can become a problem. Being fully awake and alert to care for ill patients in the clinical environment and prepare for nursing school examinations may cause accelerated nursing students to use sleep aids to fall asleep and stimulants to maintain wakefulness (Thomas et al, ).…”

“…According to Thomas et al (), 35 nursing students ingested stimulants to stay awake, 56 used sleep aids to fall asleep, 166 maintained employment during their academic and clinical studies of 8 hr or more a week, 158 had 12 hr clinical rotations, while 64 students both worked and had clinical rotations. While 144 students reported their 12‐hr clinical to be too long, more than half preferred the 12‐hr clinical and work experiences because it permitted additional time to study on another day of the academic week.…”

“…Findings indicated that nursing students needed education on the impact of sleep deprivation on the potential development of chronic and acute health issues. Thomas et al () noted: “Nurse educators and nurse managers must collaborate to reduce the number of consecutive clinical and work shifts, limit overtime and better educate students on the negative impact of sleep deprivation” (p. 87).…”

Fostering the sleep instructional guidelines for nursing students regarding their sleep quality, academic performance and psychosocial behavior

“…Sleep is a basic human need and has a necessary role in individual's life, functioning, overall health and well-being. [1,2] Sleep is necessary for college students' intellectual, emotional and physical health, also for their cognitive perfor-mance that significantly affected by sleep quality. As well as, sleep is a repetitive, an active and reversible behavior having different functions, such as learning and restorative processes, in addition to repair and growth.…”