Research

Mixed

Night shift work schedules are significantly associated with symptoms of Shift Work Disorder (SWD), including insomnia and excessive sleepiness, with prevalence rates reaching 44.3% for three-shift rotations compared to 6.2% for day work only.

If you work night shifts, your risk of developing sleep disorders is significantly higher than day workers. The risk increases with the number of nights worked and how quickly you rotate between shifts. Prioritize sleep hygiene and consider advocating for schedule changes that allow more rest between shifts.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
When using the three symptom-based questions, 44.2% of the nurses working night shifts reported symptoms indicative of SWD, whereas 23.6% of nurses who did not work night shifts reported symptoms indicative of SWD. ... symptoms of SWD were found among 6.2% of the subjects working daytime only, compared to 44.3% of subjects working on a three-shift rotation.
Elisabeth Flo et al. · PLoS ONE · 2012

Why this rating

Large sample size (n=1968), rigorous statistical controls, but relies on self-reported symptoms rather than clinical diagnosis or actigraphy.

Source

Shift Work Disorder in Nurses – Assessment, Prevalence and Related Health Problems

Elisabeth Flo et al. · PLoS ONE · 2012

DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0033981

cross_sectional · n=1968Cited 320×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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