NCT02978053

Light Treatment to Shift-working Nurses

The Effects of Bright Light on Adaptation to Night Work Among Nurses

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 35 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Bergen · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This project examines 1) the effects of appropriately timed bright light on adaptation (in terms of sleep and sleepiness) to three consecutive night shifts; and 2) the effects of such bright light on re-adaptation (in terms of sleep and sleepiness) to a day-oriented schedule after the night shift period.

Detailed description

Shift workers frequently experience sleepiness during night shifts, which may have consequences for performance. Sleep duration is often shortened after a night shift. Properly timed bright light treatment is efficient in delaying the circadian rhythm and can enhance alertness, increase performance and prolong sleep after night shifts. There is a lack of studies on light treatment to rotating shift workers. This study is a randomized controlled crossover trial evaluating the effect of bright light treatment on sleep and sleepiness in rotating shift workers with three consecutive night shifts. The aim is to evaluate whether bright light treatment improves adaptation to three consecutive night shifts (reduces sleepiness during night shifts and improves sleep after night shifts), as well as whether such treatment affects re-adaptation to a day-oriented schedule after the night shift period.

Conditions

• Shift-Work Sleep Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Bright light	Bright light for 30 minutes during night shifts (between 2 AM and 3 AM the first night, between 3 AM and 4 AM the second night, between 4 AM and 5 AM the third night).
BEHAVIORAL	Red light	Red light for 30 minutes during night shifts (between 2 AM and 3 AM the first night, between 3 AM and 4 AM the second night, between 4 AM and 5 AM the third night).

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-11-01
• Primary completion: 2019-06-01
• Completion: 2019-06-01
• First posted: 2016-11-30
• Last updated: 2019-10-02

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Norway