Problems with sleep deprivation

To sleep. This is an important thing, but it may well sometimes elude us within the medical community. Simply put, sleep deprivation happens when an individual doesn’t get enough sleep. Although the variety of hours needed to operate varies, the common adult needs about seven to eight hours of sleep each night (or day) to feel their best. According to Eanes (2019), nurses sleep lower than the final population. In 2011, the Joint Commission recognized that shift length and work schedules can significantly impact the quantity and quality of sleep amongst health care staff.

First, let’s examine the 2 basic forms of sleep, including rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep. When dreams often occur, non-REM sleep occurs first. REM sleep occurs 90 minutes after falling asleep. During the REM phase, respiratory and heart rate speed up and intense dreams occur. You are an internal “biological clock” that controls when you’re awake and when you’re able to sleep (circadian rhythm). When you lack REM and non-REM sleep, it may well cause negative effects in your body.

The consequence of lack of sleep is excessive daytime sleepiness. You may go to sleep while sitting in a quiet situation (e.g. during a gathering or stuck in a traffic jam). Severe drowsiness can pose a security risk if it puts you susceptible to falling asleep on the wheel or being injured on the job. But sleep deprivation goes beyond “just feeling sleepy.” It may affect your mood, causing irritability or anxiety. Researchers have reported that the negative impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive processing may present itself in deficits in executive functions, attention and memory tasks, and better levels of depressive states (Khormizi et al., 2019). Nurses’ long working hours and poor sleep can negatively impact learning, assessment, and overall performance (Eanes, 2019).

Lack of sleep can even impact your overall health. Lack of sleep can put you susceptible to hypertension and heart attack. Eanes (2019) also found that negative unwanted side effects can even include obesity, diabetes, and a few cancers.

Our personal responsibilities can often limit sleep. Reconciling work and family responsibilities often takes priority over meeting your personal needs. As nurses, we all know that working hours can even have an effect on meeting our sleep requirements. Many of us work one shift after which stay and work one other shift after which should return to work within the morning. Nursing students face similar challenges as they attend classes, take jobs, and even perhaps look after families. Health problems akin to insomnia, Parkinson’s disease or restless legs syndrome can even cause sleep problems.

Some persons are more susceptible to sleep deprivation than others. Sleep deprivation affects men and girls equally and should impact those caring for a toddler (e.g. caring for an elderly parent or someone with a chronic illness). Again, this impact can also affect individuals who do shift work, hold multiple jobs, or work long hours.

So what are you able to do to make sure you get a more restful eight hours of sleep every day? Overall, there isn’t any substitute for getting enough sleep, but there are strategies that may provide short-term advantages and help combat sleep deprivation. Many of us drink a big cup of coffee to start out the day well. Caffeine can improve alertness and performance, but frequent use can result in tolerance and negative withdrawal effects if not consumed. A brief nap (half-hour or less) may temporarily increase alertness. Any over-the-counter (OTC) sleep medications ought to be discussed along with your primary care physician first. In general, when you suffer from sleep deprivation, seek advice from your primary care doctor to seek out out what options might be best for you.

Finally, nurses and their employers also needs to consider a position paper issued by the American Nurses Association in 2014. It includes the advice to “fastidiously consider the necessity for adequate rest and sleep when deciding whether to supply or accept work assignments, including – calling and voluntary or mandatory time beyond regulation.” We must keep in mind that to supply one of the best and safest look after our patients, sleep should be our priority every single day.

American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (2008). Sleep deprivation. Downloaded from http://aasm.org/resources/factsheets/sleepdeprivation.pdf

American Nurses Association. (2014). Position Statement: Addressing Nurse Fatigue to Promote Safety and Health: Shared Risk Reduction Responsibilities for Registered Nurses and Employers. Downloaded from https://www.nursingworld.org/~49de63/globalassets/practiceandpolicy/health-and-safety/nurse-fatigue-position-statement-final.pdf

Eanes, L. (2015). The potential impact of sleep loss on a nurse’s health. , (4), 34-40. doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000463025.42388.10 Source: https://www.nursingcenter.com/cearticle?an=00000446-201504000-00022&Journal_ID=54030&Issue_ID=2794782

Khormizi, H., Salehinejad, M., Nitsche, M., and Nejati, V. (2019). Sleep deprivation and autobiographical memory: Evidence from sleep-deprived nurses. (1). Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsr.12683

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH). 2019. Sleep deprivation and deficiency. Downloaded from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency

Joint Commission (2011). , 48. Source: https://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/18/SEA_48.pdf