IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i22p11930-d678456.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • 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)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Noelia Durán-Gómez & Jorge Guerrero-Martín & Demetrio Pérez-Civantos & Casimiro Fermín López-Jurado & Jesús Montanero-Fernández & Macarena C. Cáceres, 2021. "Night Shift and Decreased Brain Activity of ICU Nurses: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-14, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:11930-:d:678456
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/11930/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/11930/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sean P. A. Drummond & Gregory G. Brown & J. Christian Gillin & John L. Stricker & Eric C. Wong & Richard B. Buxton, 2000. "Altered brain response to verbal learning following sleep deprivation," Nature, Nature, vol. 403(6770), pages 655-657, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:cup:judgdm:v:3:y:2008:i::p:181-190 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. June Pilcher & Holly Geldhauser & J. Beeco & Tracy Lindquist, 2013. "Controlled Attention and Sleep Deprivation: Adding a Self-Regulation Approach?," International Journal of Psychological Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 5(3), pages 1-71, September.
    3. Dickinson, David L. & McElroy, Todd, 2019. "Bayesian versus heuristic-based choice under sleep restriction and suboptimal times of day," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 48-59.
    4. Dickinson, David L. & Drummond, Sean P. A., 2008. "The effects of total sleep deprivation on bayesian updating," Judgment and Decision Making, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 181-190, February.
    5. Dickinson, David L. & Drummond, Sean P. A., 2008. "The effects of total sleep deprivation on bayesian updating," Judgment and Decision Making, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 181-190, February.
    6. Dickinson, David L. & McElroy, Todd, 2017. "Sleep restriction and circadian effects on social decisions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 57-71.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:11930-:d:678456. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.