Reducing Fatigue and Errors Among Nurses Working Night Shifts

By Medical Xpress

A study led by researchers at McGill University found that nurses were less fatigued and made fewer errors when they were exposed to 40 minutes of bright light prior to starting their night shifts. These nurses also reported better sleep following their shifts. In the study of nearly 60 nurses at the McGill University Health Centre, researchers observed a 67% drop in errors after they were exposed to 40 minutes of bright light from a portable light box before their night shifts. Errors fell by just 5% in the control group of nurses who only altered their diets to improve alertness. "Interventions like the one we studied are relevant to a large population of workers, since between a quarter and a third of the world's employees do some form of shift work," adds Mariève Cyr, the study’s first author, a fourth-year medical student at McGill University. "Although we focused on nurses working rotating schedules, our results may apply to other types of shift workers as well."

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