Night Shift Work and Sleep Wake Cycle in Nurses: an Integrative Review

Abstract

Background: Night shift work can lead to exhaustion and fatigue, often resulting from sleep deprivation, identified by some studies as a negative factor for health. Objective:To identify the characteristics of the sleep wake cycle of the nurse who works at the night shift. Method:Integrative review by searching publications at the databases SCIELO, LILACS, CINAHL and PubMed, using the keywords: sleep, shift work, nursing.Results: There was selection of 11 articles; 54% of the studies were published in 2012 and 2013, which allowed observing features of the night worker in the course of 24 hours. They were developed along two axes: night worker and sleep, and night worker and vigil. Conclusion:We can conclude that hospitals need to adopt preventive measures regarding the physical and mental health of workers of the night shift.