Picture this: You’re a nurse working night shifts and battling tiredness every night.
Well, some smart researchers from McGill University in Montreal may have found a solution to keep you alert and error-free.
The trick? Light exposure before the shift starts!
The Experiment Setup
The scientists wanted to see if shining light on nurses before their night shift could help them feel less tired, make fewer mistakes, be in a better mood, and even sleep better.
They took 57 healthy nurses who worked full-time and mixed up day and night shifts. The nurses were split into two groups.
One group used a small light box in the evening before their shift and avoided morning light. The other group didn’t change their light habits but tweaked their diets.
The Stunning Results
The results were like night and day! The light therapy group made 67% fewer errors than before, while the diet group’s errors dropped by just 5%.
The light therapy group also felt less tired on the job than the diet group. Both groups felt less sleepy, and some even slept a bit longer. The cherry on top? The light therapy group were in a slightly better mood.
A Ray of Hope for Healthcare
Healthcare workers are often stretched thin, dealing with staff shortages, tough schedules, and heavy workloads. It’s no surprise that they often feel tired.
On top of that, medical mistakes can be costly, reaching billions of dollars per year in North America.
This study suggests a simple and practical change – shining light on nurses before their night shift – could cut down on their fatigue and reduce errors at work. This could be a win-win for nurses and their patients alike.
In the end, it seems the old saying is true: “Let there be light!” Especially for our hardworking night-shift nurses.
If you care about sleep, please read studies about herbs that could help you sleep well at night, and these drugs could lower the severity of sleep apnea by one-third.
For more information about sleep, please see recent studies that coffee boosts your physical activity, cuts sleep, affects heartbeat, and results showing how to deal with “COVID-Somnia” and sleep well at night.
The study was published in Sleep Health. Follow us on Twitter for more articles about this topic.
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