Navigating night shifts: a qualitative study of exploring sleep experiences and coping strategies among nurses

Background: Understanding the experiences and coping strategies employed by nurses working night shifts is essential for developing effective interventions to mitigate sleep disturbances. However, actionable and reliable strategies for improving sleep quality remain elusive. This study aimed to explore the sleep experiences and coping strategies of nurses working rotating night shifts. Methods: This qualitative descriptive study utilized semi-structured individual interviews with 15 nurses working rotating night shifts at three hospitals in South Korea. Data were collected between October 2022 and February 2023 and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Four key themes emerged, including difficulty sleeping due to night shifts, distress due to difficulty sleeping, strategies to improve sleep quality, and desire for organizational change. Participants reported a range of coping strategies to enhance sleep quality while managing the challenges of shift work. These strategies included creating behaviors and environments to promote sleep, finding a balance between sleep and activity time, embracing irregular sleep patterns, and asking others for help. Conclusions: Despite employing various coping strategies, nurses working night shifts continued to face persistent sleep difficulties. While they recognized night shifts as an inherent aspect of their profession and demonstrated adaptability, they still sought to overcome their sleep challenges. These findings highlight the urgent need for organizational and institutional measures to address sleep-related issues among night shift nurses.