This study was aimed at identifying the chronotype of nurses in the morning and evening shifts of a university hospital, how these workshifts influence their sleep and correlate chronotypes with influences of sleep on and off the workplace. Fifteen nurses participated in the study by answering to the questionnaire of Horne&Ostberg and semi-structured interviews between March and July 2010. Data from questionnaires were organized into spreadsheets and the interviews were analyzed by thematic analysis. Nurses worked as follows: five in moderately morning shift, four in indifferent shift, two in moderately evening shift, three in evening shift and one in morning shift. Shift work was found to develop peculiar eating and sleep habits. The chronobiological profile did not translate subjectivities regarding sleep and work shifts. Night nurses demonstrated higher dysfunction in sleep-wake cycle, which had an impact on the daily lives of all nurses.
Chronobiology discipline; Shift work; Sleep; Nurses; Personnel administration, hospital