Short Sleep Duration Is Associated with More Intense Musculoskeletal Symptoms in Day-Shift Nurses: An Observational Study

Musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) and sleep problems are prevalent in nurses. Evidence exploring associations between sleep and MSS in nurses is limited by self-reported sleep measures and recalling MSS over a long period. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between MSS and sleep in nurses using objective sleep measures and real-time MSS assessment. This 7-day observational study included 31 nurses who work day shifts. Sleep duration and efficiency were measured using accelerometers, and MSS were reported using ecological momentary assessment. Sleep metrics and MSS were compared between workdays and days off, and a regression model analyzed the effect of sleep duration on MSS while controlling for age and body mass index (BMI). On average, nurses did not sleep the minimum recommended duration of 7 h (6.28, SD = 1.31), and they slept significantly less prior to a workday (5.98 h, SD = 1.12) than a day off work (6.69 h, SD = 1.43) (t(185) = −5.92, p < 0.0001). Short sleep duration was associated with 18% higher MSS when controlling for age and BMI (t(822) = 2.63, p = 0.009). Understanding the association between sleep and MSS is important to healthcare organizations and policy makers because sleep is essential for health and recovery, and occupational characteristics, such as shift length and consecutive shifts, influence sleep. Nurse fatigue is detrimental to patient safety and the health of the nursing workforce, and musculoskeletal problems contribute to nurse attrition. This study may inform future research on organizational policies related to nurse fatigue and musculoskeletal symptoms.