How tired are night-shift nurses? A Ghana study puts a number on it

After a night shift, how sleepy are you, really?

A May 2026 study in Scientific Reports surveyed 175 pediatric nurses in northern Ghana about daytime sleepiness and physical symptoms after night shifts. The results are sobering.

Mean daytime sleepiness score on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale: 10.12 out of 24. One in five nurses (20.6%) met the threshold for severe excessive daytime sleepiness. The scenario most likely to trigger dozing off? Lying down to rest in the afternoon — 31.4% reported this as their peak drowsy moment.

Physical symptoms ranked high too: sleep disturbances scored 2.87 out of 4, followed by GI and eating disruptions (2.29) and cardiovascular/physical strain (2.28).

These are the people taking care of some of the most vulnerable patients — sick children — while running on chronic sleep debt. It's not a problem unique to Ghana. Nursing shortages and demanding shift schedules are global issues.

The study recommends better shift scheduling and targeted sleep health education. Easier said than done, probably. But the data at least puts a number on what many nurses already know: night shifts wreck your body.

Source: Nukpezah RN et al. The effect of night shift work on daytime sleepiness and physiological health among pediatric nurses in Northern Ghana. Scientific Reports. 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-52977-8