Background and Objective
Sleep hygiene can affect the quality and duration of sleep and is related to psychological symptoms. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine the relationship of sleep hygiene with job burnout and sleep attitudes among nurses. Sleep is a biological process that affects mental health, physical health, behavior, and cognition. According to previous research, adults need at least 7 hours of sleep a night to stay healthy and functioning properly. The prevalence of sleep problems in nurses includes sleep disorders (66%), sleep disruption (55%), sleep less than 6 hours (37%), and feeling tired after waking up (68%). Work shifts affect the circadian rhythm of sleep and wakefulness [9] and cause sleep disturbances. Furthermore, the healthcare work environment is highly stressful and is effective in causing or exacerbating sleep disorders.
In this regard, people who are exposed to long work shifts have poorer sleep hygiene. Poor sleep hygiene is associated with poor sleep quality and insomnia. Therefore, to improve the healthcare and sleep quality of nurses, proper sleep hygiene is an effective factor.
Materials and Methods
The present study was a descriptive cross-sectional correlational study. The statistical population included all nurses in the city of Kerman, Iran, in 2021, among whom, 152 samples were selected using a convenience sampling method and inclusion criteria. The tools employed to collect the required data consisted of a demographic information form, the Sleep Hygiene Practices Scale (SHPS), Charlotte Attitudes Towards Sleep Scale, and Maslach Burnout Inventory. Higher scores in the SHPS were indications of lower sleep hygiene. The gathered data were analyzed in SPSS-21 using descriptive indexes, Pearson’s correlation, and multivariate regression.
Results
Male and female participants accounted for 40.1% (n=61) and 59.9% (n=91) of the population, respectively. The results indicated that sleep hygiene had negative, medium, and significant correlations with attitudes towards sleep and its subscales (0.41-0.47), while it showed positive, medium, and significant relationships with job burnout and its subscales (0.41-0.66; P<0.01). Moreover, according to the regression calculations, sleep hygiene could be predicted in nurses by the subscales of attitudes towards sleep (negatively) and job burnout (positively) (P<0.01). Descriptive indices of sleep hygiene variables (as a criterion variable) and attitudes toward sleep and burnout along with their subscales (as predictor variables) are reported in Table 1. Based on the mean scores reported in Table 1, the statuses of nurses' sleep hygiene, attitude to sleep, and burnout were relatively unfavorable, relatively unfavorable, and relatively good, respectively. The subscales of burnout included emotional fatigue (β=0.40), depersonalization (β=0.30), and lack of personal success (β=0.19), which were positive and significant predictors of sleep health (P<0.01).
Conclusion
Among the limitations of the present study were the use of self-reporting tools, the impossibility of interviewing participants, and performing the study during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Additionally, due to the fact that nurses experienced a lot of stress during the outbreak of COVID-19 disease, some of them might not have carefully studied and completed the questionnaires due to physical or mental fatigue. Therefore, it is suggested that to eliminate some of these limitations, nurses' sleep health should be examined in more appropriate conditions based on psychological components and their results should be used as a complement to the results of the present study. In addition, it is recommended that hospitals, universities, and other related organizations pay attention to nurses' sleep issues and develop and implement appropriate programs to prevent burnout. The subscales of attitudes towards sleep and job burnout were important predictors of sleep hygiene. Therefore, it is suggested that relevant organizations take into account and consider nurses' sleep issues, so that suitable programs can be designed and implemented.