Sleep Quality and Health Among Medical Professionals

Medical professionals frequently confront extended hours, rotating shifts and high‐pressure environments that disrupt normal sleep patterns and circadian rhythms. Such disturbances encompass difficulty initiating sleep, frequent awakenings and reduced overall sleep duration. Chronic exposure to poor sleep quality has been linked to diminished cognitive performance, impaired decision making and increased risk of medical errors. Furthermore, inadequate rest contributes to emotional exhaustion, heightened symptoms of anxiety and depression and a greater incidence of occupational burnout. The prevalence of sleep disturbances among physicians and resident doctors often exceeds 50%, with demographic variables, workload intensity and organisational factors all exerting influence. Addressing sleep quality is therefore essential not only for the well‐being of individual practitioners but also for patient safety and health‐care system efficiency. Interventions such as structured sleep education, cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia and optimisation of shift schedules have demonstrated promise in ameliorating sleep deficits and enhancing both psychological and physical health outcomes across diverse clinical settings.

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Sleep Quality and Health Among Medical Professionals publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in sleep quality and health among medical professionals across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI): A self‐rated questionnaire that assesses sleep quality and disturbances over a one‐month period.

Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS): A tool used to measure daytime sleepiness by rating the likelihood of dozing off in common situations.

Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi): A structured psychological intervention targeting maladaptive thoughts and behaviours to improve sleep.

Circadian rhythm: The internal biological clock that regulates sleep–wake cycles in a roughly 24‐hour period.

Sleep latency: The duration of time it takes to transition from full wakefulness to sleep.

References

1. Sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among military medical doctors of the Swiss Armed Forces: study protocol, rationale and development of a cross-sectional and longitudinal interventional study. Frontiers in Public Health (2024).
2. Association Between Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Resident Physicians. Frontiers in Psychiatry (2021).
3. Epworth sleepiness scale in medical residents: quality of sleep and its relationship to quality of life. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology (2018).