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Introduction:
In response to the 2011 duty hour restrictions by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, many residency programs adopted a night float system. In response to concerns regarding the effects of night float on sleep and subsequently on patient care, we examined sleep patterns of residents assigned to different call schedules.
Materials & Methods:
Urology residents assigned to standard day shift (Monday-Friday, 6am-6pm), night float (Sunday-Friday, 6pm-6am) or 24-hour home call and attending physicians were monitored for two week periods using actigraphy bands. Total sleep time, light versus deep sleep time, sleep latency and number of disruptions during sleep were measured. Comparative statistics and logistic regression were used to compare call systems and to determine predictors of sleep metrics.
Results:
When comparing day shift, night float, and 24-hour home call, the only significant difference was in sleep latency. Upon comparing residents of various levels (junior, senior, and research year), all sleep variables except sleep latency were significantly different. Compared to residents, attending physicians had shorter sleep latency and were woken less frequently. Being a research year resident was the only significant univariate predictor of total sleep. Age and being a research year resident were significant univariate predictors of sleep latency.
Conclusions:
These data suggest that night float shifts do not lead to a significant change in total sleep or quality of sleep. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and to determine the impact of night float rotations on resident quality of life and on patient safety.