Sleep Debt and Night Shifts: Study Reveals Increased Infection Risks for Nurses
A new study examining the effects of sleep patterns and shift work on the immune system has found that sleep debt and night shifts increase the risk of several common infections in nurses.
Modern society relies on shift work, which requires employees to work outside of traditional hours. While essential in sectors such as healthcare, growing evidence suggests that these work patterns may negatively impact worker’s health.
This study, which analysed self-reported data from 1,335 Norwegian nurses, found that shift work – particularly night shifts – was associated with a higher risk of several infections, including the common cold.
Published in Chronobiology International, the peer-reviewed findings emphasise the importance of adequate sleep and shift management in reducing susceptibility to infection.
“These findings highlight the need for tailored interventions to reduce infection risks among healthcare workers,” says Siri Waage, senior author of the study
“Sleep debt and irregular shift patterns, including night work, not only compromise nurses’ immune health but could also impact their ability to provide high-quality patient care.”
The participants – mostly female nurses (90.4%), with an average age of 41.9 years – reported their sleep duration, sleep needs, shift work patterns, and how often they had experienced specific infections over the past three months.
The study found that sleep debt, defined as the gap between sleep need and actual sleep duration, increased infection risk in a dose-dependent manner where the nurses with moderate sleep debt (1-120 minutes less sleep than needed) had a 33% higher risk of the common cold, while those with severe sleep debt (more than 2 hours) had more than double compared to those with no sleep debt.
The risk of pneumonia/bronchitis was 129% higher for moderate sleep debt and 288% for severe sleep debt. Both sinusitis and gastrointestinal infections also showed higher risks with increasing levels of sleep debt.
These findings suggest that ensuring sufficient sleep may help prevent infections, although further research is needed to determine cause-and-effect relationships.
Ref: Hartveit Hosøy, D., Ørner, P. B., Pallesen, S., Saxvig, I. W., Bjorvatn, B., & Waage, S. (2025). Night work and sleep debt are associated with infections among Norwegian nurses. Chronobiology International, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2025.2455147
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