The purpose of present study was to classify the chronotype of nursing staff, in order to identify the presence of stress and its correlation with chronotype and working hours. The study was conducted at a private hospital in the city of Limeira, in the state of São Paulo, with 87 subjects from different sectors and work shifts. The instruments used were: Lipp's Stress Symptom Inventory and a self-assessment questionnaire to determine morningness-eveningness in human circadian rhythms. We ascertained that 74.7% of the individuals were acclimated to shift working; however, 55.4% of them presented symptoms of stress - thereby demonstrating a significant statistical correlation (Fisher´s Exact Test, p=0.035).We also witnessed stress in subjects with a greater length of service in the institution, with a significant difference (Fisher's Exact Test, p=0.003). Most subjects were acclimated to their work shifts, in accordance with their personal chronotype, nevertheless even with these individuals stress could be observed, leading to the confirmation of data obtained in other research as to the stressful nature of the profession.
Nurses; Stress; Shift work
