Night Shift and Decreased Brain Activity of ICU Nurses: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

Noelia Durán-Gómez, Jorge Guerrero-Martín, Demetrio Pérez-Civantos, Casimiro Fermín López-Jurado, Jesús Montanero-Fernández and Macarena C. Cáceres
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Noelia Durán-Gómez: Departamento de Enfermería, Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Jorge Guerrero-Martín: Departamento de Enfermería, Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Demetrio Pérez-Civantos: Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Extremadura, Hospital Universitario de Badajoz, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Casimiro Fermín López-Jurado: Departamento de Enfermería, Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Jesús Montanero-Fernández: Departamento de Matemáticas, Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Macarena C. Cáceres: Departamento de Enfermería, Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: Background: Shift working is associated with a profound desynchronization of circadian rhythm and in particular, night-shift work disrupts normal circadian physiology. Sleep deprivation affects the functioning of certain brain areas and thus impairs cognitive performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the night shift on cognitive performance and cerebral oxygenation/haemodynamics. Methods: A prospective, observational, comparative, randomized and cross-over study was carried out. A total of 74 intensive care unit nurses in Spain were included in the study. The following variables were measured: sociodemographic, burnout, anxiety, baseline cerebral oxygenation levels on night and day shift using a near-infrared spectroscopy system and cognitive task performance during a verbal fluency task to evaluate the alterations in the prefrontal cortex, assessed as changes in regional saturation index. Results: The average regional saturation index decreased significantly in the night shift (r = 0.560, p < 0.001). The ICU nurses showed a significant decrease in the verbal fluency test on average (8.53 ± 8.49, p < 0.001) and, in general, there was also a significant increase in anxiety score (3.17 ± 7.56, p = 0.001). Conclusions: Sleep deprivation during the night shift was considered to be related to decreased dorsolateral PFC reactivity. After the night shift, the nurses showed a decrease in prefrontal cortex activity and in cognitive performance.

Keywords: nurses; night; shift; sleep; anxiety; dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; near-infrared spectroscopy; cerebral blood flow; cognitive; performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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