Introduction:

Sleep is one of the primordial needs of human beings, and plays a fundamental role in relaxing and reestablishing the body for a new cycle. Sleep deprivation and shift work can have negative consequences for the physical and mental health of nurses working shifts.

Objective:

To analyze the sleep quality of nurses in an emergency department at a hospital in the north of Portugal and its relationship with shift work.

Methodology:

Descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional and quantitative study. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was applied to a sample of 60 nurses. Data processing was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results:

The majority of participants were nurses (68.3%), aged between 31 and 40 years old (61.7%). We found that both female nurses and those with the professional category of general care nurses perceived poor sleep quality. Participants with a fixed schedule, who work night shifts and who work up to two-night shifts per week had a lower quality of sleep, (80%) of nurses had difficulty falling asleep and perceived poor quality of sleep.

Conclusion:

It is necessary to intervene at an individual and organizational level to promote the adoption of measures to improve the quality of sleep of nurses who work shifts. It is important to raise awareness about the adoption of sleep hygiene strategies, promoting healthy lifestyle habits, with the aim of improving the quality of sleep of nurses, which will translate into an improvement in the health care provided.

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