2023 Volume 43 Pages 372-378
Objectives: To understand sleep and sleepiness in first-year nursing students over time via objective and subjective assessments and to clarify the characteristics of their sleep and sleepiness.
Methods: The sleep variables were evaluated at three months, six months, and nine months after admission for one week using Actiwatch and a sleep diary. Sleepiness was also evaluated using the Japanese version of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (JESS) during the same period. Changes in the sleep variables were compared using the Friedman test and the Bonferroni test. The relationship between the sleep variables and sleepiness was compared using Mann Whitney-U test.
Results: The sleep variables of the 13 participants differed according to waking time, and the subtest results showed that waking time was significantly later at nine months after admission than at three months after admission. Total sleep duration differed between the sleep variables and sleepiness at nine months after admission, and “sleepiness present” with a JESS score of 11 or higher showed a significantly longer total sleep duration than “sleepiness absent.”
Conclusion: The participants’ waking time was delayed the most at nine months after admission, and the total sleep duration in “sleepiness present” was prolonged. Accordingly, to support first-year students without practical training in developing a regular life rhythm, it was necessary to continuously assess sleep variables and sleepiness.
