Yu-San Chang, Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung and Faculty of Nursing Department, Meiho University, Neipu, Taiwan; Yu-Hsuan Wu and Mei Rou Lu, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, Kaohsiung; Chung-Yao Hsu, Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung; Ching-Kuan Liu, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital; and Chin Hsu, Department of Physiology, Kaohsiung Medical University

Shift workers frequently experience acute sleep deprivation on the first nightshift. This study compared the efficacy of a 30-minute nap (between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.) on the visual-attention ability of nurses working at their first eight-hour nightshift at the time of maximum fatigue (between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m.). In addition, the researchers measured cognitive function (between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.) in nurses working on the daytime shift, which they defined as baseline wakefulness. The results showed that working on the nightshift groups was associated with sleep loss, leading to a decrease in visual-attention performance compared to the daytime-shift group. There was no statistically significant difference in the visual-attention performance between those taking and not taking a nap during the nightshift, but the effect size was medium in the information process. An increase in sample size was still needed to draw the conclusion regarding whether a 30-minute nap break has positive benefits on perceptual speed during the first nightshift.

App Ergo, Volume 48, pages 104-108. Correspondence to: Ching-Kuan Liu, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, No. 100, Tzyou 1st Road, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan, ROC; tel: +886 7 7513171 ext. 2373; fax: +886 7 7161843.