Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Sleep Quality, Fatigue, Attention, and Cortisol Profile in Nures: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Shift work in nursing has been found to result in sleep disruption and sleep deprivation, and in sleepiness or fatigue at work. Slow reaction, insufficient attention and poor judgement often come with increased fatigue, which contributes to a high risk of accident and patient safety. Studies have shown that aerobic exercise is helpful in promoting high sleep quality, whereas few researchers have argued over how aerobic exercise training improves sleep quality in nurses. The three-year study is conducted in two stages. First, a cross-sectional study with a sample of 200 shift nurses is designed to observe the nurses’ subjective sleep quality and its relationship to personal characteristics, chronotype and lifestyle. Second, a prospective parallel randomized trial is performed to 60 nurses with sleep disturbance. The subjects are randomly assigned on a 1:1 ratio to either: (i) the experimental group, in which aerobic exercise training is given three times a week, a total of twenty-four times in eight weeks; (ii) the control group, in which the subjects kept their original lifestyles. The study aims to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise training on nurses’ sleep quality, fatigue, attention and cortisol profile. The findings of the study could provide guidelines on improving nurses’ fitness and sleep quality.