ABSTRACT

This study aims to evaluate the effects of night shifts on attention and executive function among residents working at Trakya University Hospital.

This prospective study was performed between November 2019 - January 2020 on 83 residents working at Trakya University Hospital. The Tower of Hanoi test was used to measure the attention and function level of two different groups of residents. The fırst group being residents working with night shifts and the other group being residents with regular working hours. After the participants finished solving the puzzle, the number of moves and the finishing time were recorded. The demographic data about smoking, coffee intake, sleep hours, departments, and hand dominance were also recor-ded.

The participants were composed of 36 (43.4 %) female and 47 (56.6 %) male residents. The difference in smoking rate and sleep time between the two groups were found to be statistically signifıcant whereas the difference between the comple-tion time and moves was not statistically signifıcant.

Smoking and duration of sleep may affect the Tower of Hanoi puzzle performance. Although residents working with night shifts did not under-perform, the importance of sleep for cognitive skills such as attention and coordination cannot be underestimated. Stress caused by night shifts may affect reaction time for problem-solving, but further studies are needed.

Keywords: Nightshift, attention, Tower of Hanoi test