Research

Mixed

Nurses with more than 30 quick returns (less than 11 hours between shifts) per year have a significantly higher risk of insomnia, excessive sleepiness, and shift work disorder compared to those with no quick returns.

If you work shifts, ensure you have at least 11 hours between your last shift and your next start time. Failing to do so (a 'quick return') significantly increases your risk of insomnia, excessive sleepiness, and Shift Work Disorder, especially if you have more than 30 such instances per year. Prioritize schedules that allow for adequate recovery time over those that offer longer consecutive days off at the expense of daily recovery.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
We found a significant positive association between quick returns and insomnia, excessive sleepiness, excessive fatigue and shift work disorder.
Maria Fagerbakke Eldevik et al. · PLoS ONE · 2013

Why this rating

Large sample size (n=1990), validated instruments, and adjusted logistic regression, though cross-sectional design limits causal inference.

Source

Insomnia, Excessive Sleepiness, Excessive Fatigue, Anxiety, Depression and Shift Work Disorder in Nurses Having Less than 11 Hours in-Between Shifts

Maria Fagerbakke Eldevik et al. · PLoS ONE · 2013

DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0070882

cross_sectional · n=1990Cited 253×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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