Prevalence of Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation Symptoms in Nurses and Paramedics: A Cross-sectional Analytic-descriptive Study

Background: The shift works cause sleep disorders and sleeps deprivation symptoms and noticeably affects human function. This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of sleep disorders and sleep deprivation symptoms in nurses and paramedics (N & Ps). Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 850 nurses and paramedical staff on shift work of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences were studied by simple sampling. The inclusion criteria were willingness to engage and work at the time of study. Data collection tools were demographic data and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. After obtaining consent and completing the questionnaire, the data were analyzed by descriptive and analytic statistics using SPSS software version 16 via Kruskal-Wallis. Moreover, correlations were assessed using Spearman correlation. Results: Current findings demonstrated that subjects with different shifts had sleep disorders in 98.8% of cases, while remains had 1 to 29 items of sleep ones. Disorders of initiating sleep and fatigue and weakness after waking up were observed in 67.5% and 64.9% of N & Ps, respectively. Subjects in 72.8% of cases preferred to stay at the bed in the morning and 28.9% had night terrors and Rapid Eye Movement behavior disorder. In terms of physical symptoms, fatigue and weakness had the maximum frequency (29.9%). Physical, mental, and emotional symptoms were observed in 96.7%, 94.8%, and 95.5%, respectively. The maximum frequency (38.4%) was correlated to inhibition of study. Conclusion: Present findings demonstrated that subjects have sleep disorders and sleep deprivation symptoms in different severities. As for N & Ps are key individuals in the healthcare system and on the other hand are as potential patients in the future, paying special attention to them is necessary.