Effects of Aerobic Exercise Training on Nurses' Sleep Quality, Fatigue, Attention and Cortisol Profile
Condition: Nurse; Attention; Aerobic Exercise; Sleep Quality; Fatigue; Cortisol
MeSH terms: Fatigue
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Shift work in nursing has been found to result in sleep disruption and sleep deprivation, and
      in sleepiness or fatigue at work. Slow reaction, insufficient attention and poor judgement
      often come with increased fatigue, which contributes to a high risk of accident and patient
      safety. Studies have shown that aerobic exercise is helpful in promoting high sleep quality.
      The study is conducted a prospective parallel randomized trial is performed to 60 nurses with
      low sleep quality. The subjects are randomly assigned to: (i) the experimental group, in
      which aerobic exercise training is given; (ii) the control group, in which the subjects kept
      their original lifestyles. The study aims to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise
      training on nurses' sleep quality, fatigue, attention and cortisol profile.
    

Detailed description: 
      When work shifts and lifestyles change, the synchronous relationship between the body's
      biological clock and the environment, i.e., circadian rhythms, is disrupted, resulting in
      insufficient sleep and insomnia. Shift work in nursing has been found to result in sleep
      disruption and sleep deprivation, and in sleepiness or fatigue at work. Slow reaction,
      insufficient attention and poor judgement often come with increased fatigue, which
      contributes to a high risk of accident and patient safety. Studies have shown that aerobic
      exercise is helpful in promoting high sleep quality, whereas few researchers have argued over
      how aerobic exercise training improves sleep quality in nurses. The study is conducted in two
      stages. Previous stage, we conducted with a cross-sectional study design with convenience
      sampled 200 participants to fill out the Chinese Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (CPSQI)
      questionnaire for screen the low sleep quality (CPSQI > 5) participants. A total of 200
      nurses were recruited, and 199 valid samples were collected, 108 participants were found to
      have low sleep quality (CPSQI > 5). The study will adopt a prospective, longitudinal,
      parallel-group comparative study, randomly sample from previously screen low sleep quality
      participants, then random assign to experimental (aerobic exercise) and control (routine
      activity) groups, and actigraphy sleep recording, saliva samples and attention data will be
      collected.

      The study aims to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise training on nurses' sleep
      quality, fatigue, attention and cortisol profile. The findings of the study could provide
      guidelines on improving nurses' fitness and sleep quality.
    

Intervention name(s): aerobic exercise
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): the experimental group, in which aerobic exercise training is given three times a week, a total of twenty-four times in eight weeks
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: The study will randomly sample from previously screen low sleep quality participants, then random assign to experimental (aerobic exercise) and control (routine activity) groups
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Other