Volume 16, Issue 3 (June 2022)
Qom Univ Med Sci J 2022, 16(3): 190-199 |
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Ethics code: IR.MUQ.REC.1395.143
Clinical trials code: IRCT2017.1002036498 N 3
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Akbari A, Hosseini F, Ayoobi F, Khalili P, Shamsizadeh A, Shafiei S A. Effect of Extremely Low-frequency Magnetic Field Exposure on the Sleepiness of Night-shift Nurses: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Qom Univ Med Sci J 2022; 16 (3) :190-199
URL: http://journal.muq.ac.ir/article-1-3421-en.html
URL: http://journal.muq.ac.ir/article-1-3421-en.html
Ali Akbari1 
, Fatemeh Hosseini2 , Fatemeh Ayoobi3 , Parvin Khalili4 , Ali Shamsizadeh5 , Seyed Ali Shafiei * 6
, Fatemeh Hosseini2 , Fatemeh Ayoobi3 , Parvin Khalili4 , Ali Shamsizadeh5 , Seyed Ali Shafiei * 6
1- Department of Medical Surgery Nursing, Research Center of Social Factors Affecting Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
2- Department of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
3- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Non-communicable Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
4- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Social Factors of Health Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
5- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Physiology-Pharmacology Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
6- Department of Physiology, Pharmacology and Medical Physics, Research Center for Neurological Sciences and Diseases, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran. ,salishafiei@yahoo.com
2- Department of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
3- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Non-communicable Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
4- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Social Factors of Health Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
5- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Physiology-Pharmacology Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
6- Department of Physiology, Pharmacology and Medical Physics, Research Center for Neurological Sciences and Diseases, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran. ,
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Introduction
Sleeping is a basic human need, an opportunity to restore strength, get rid of tensions, and have a feeling of vitality and freshness. Nurses are at risk for insomnia due to changes in their work shifts. Some studies have shown that electromagnetic waves may treat insomnia and affect the sleep quality of people. Due to the importance of the quality of sleep and considering the safety of low-frequency magnetic fields and their effects on induction of sleepiness reported in some studies, this study aims to investigate the effect of extremely low-frequency magnetic field (ELF-MFs) on the sleepness of nurses with night shift.
Methods
This is a randomized crossover clinical trial that was conducted on 28 nurses with night shift, randomly divided into two groups of exposure (n=14) and sham (n=14). The central areas of the brain of nurses in the exposure group after the night shift were exposed to a magnetic field with 200-μT intensity at a frequency of 10Hz for 10 for four weeks and eight night shifts. The magnetic fields were presented by three coils with an inner radius of 1 cm, which were placed by a wide strip at regions C3, Cz and C4 according to the international 10-20 EEG system. The protocol for the nurses in the sham group was the same, except they were not exposed to a magnetic field. After the stimulation, there was no intervention for two weeks to wash out the effects. Then, the groups exchanged their roles and the protocols repeated.
Stanford sleepiness scale (SSS) was used to measure the sleepiness of nurses. This scale measures the level of sleepiness at different times of the day with 8 items rated on a Likert scale from 1 to 7. A nurse who does not sleep at all receives no score. A score of 4 (cut-off point) indicates that the nurse is suffering from poor sleep quality. After each night shift in the 4th weeks of the first and second periods of exposure, the nurses completed the SSS. Findings were analyzed in SPSS software. The significance level was set at 0.05.
Results
The participants included 19 (67.9%) female nurses and 9 (32.1%) male nurses aged 37.6±7.6 years. In the exposure group, the mean score of SSS in the first period of exposure to ELF-MFs was 4.7±0.6; in the second period when the device was off, it was 4.7±0.7. There was no statistically significant difference in the SSS score of the exposure group between the first and second periods (P = 0.54). In the sham group, the mean score of SSS in the first period when the device turned off was 4.6±0.7; in the second period with exposure to ELF-MFs, it was 4.7±0.6. There was no statistically significant difference in the SSS score of the sham group between the first and second periods (P = 0.36). Furthermore, no significant difference was observed in the SSS score in the first and second periods between the two groups (P = 0.30). Moreover, no significant difference in the SSS score was observed between periods and the order of placement in each period (carryover effect = 0.97, period effect = 0.96).
Discussion
The present study showed that the use of ELF-MFs is not effective in improving the sleepiness of nurses that was assessed by a self-report tool. The findings of the present study are against the results of AmirFallah et al, who used the same protocol of ELF-MFs in terms of intensity, waveform, duration of exposure, and exposure areas, and reported that the female college students’ sleep quality were improved [1]. This discrepancy may be due to the difference in the sleep disorders of college students and nurses; sleep disorders in students may due to anxiety caused by studying and having exams, while the sleep disorders in night-shift nurses may be due to the disturbance of their circadian rhythm [2], disturbance by noise and light, and living conditions [3].
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
The research was approved by the ethical committee of Qom University of Medical Science (MUQ).
Funding
This study was supported by Qom University of Medical Science (MUQ).
Authors contributions
Methodology: All authors; Investigation, Writing-original draft, and Writing-review & editing: Fatemeh Hosseini, Fatemeh Ayoobi and Seyed Ali Shafiei; Data collection:Ali Akbari, Fatemeh Hosseini; Data analysis: Parvin Khalili; Funding acquisition and Resources: All authors.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Sleeping is a basic human need, an opportunity to restore strength, get rid of tensions, and have a feeling of vitality and freshness. Nurses are at risk for insomnia due to changes in their work shifts. Some studies have shown that electromagnetic waves may treat insomnia and affect the sleep quality of people. Due to the importance of the quality of sleep and considering the safety of low-frequency magnetic fields and their effects on induction of sleepiness reported in some studies, this study aims to investigate the effect of extremely low-frequency magnetic field (ELF-MFs) on the sleepness of nurses with night shift.
Methods
This is a randomized crossover clinical trial that was conducted on 28 nurses with night shift, randomly divided into two groups of exposure (n=14) and sham (n=14). The central areas of the brain of nurses in the exposure group after the night shift were exposed to a magnetic field with 200-μT intensity at a frequency of 10Hz for 10 for four weeks and eight night shifts. The magnetic fields were presented by three coils with an inner radius of 1 cm, which were placed by a wide strip at regions C3, Cz and C4 according to the international 10-20 EEG system. The protocol for the nurses in the sham group was the same, except they were not exposed to a magnetic field. After the stimulation, there was no intervention for two weeks to wash out the effects. Then, the groups exchanged their roles and the protocols repeated.
Stanford sleepiness scale (SSS) was used to measure the sleepiness of nurses. This scale measures the level of sleepiness at different times of the day with 8 items rated on a Likert scale from 1 to 7. A nurse who does not sleep at all receives no score. A score of 4 (cut-off point) indicates that the nurse is suffering from poor sleep quality. After each night shift in the 4th weeks of the first and second periods of exposure, the nurses completed the SSS. Findings were analyzed in SPSS software. The significance level was set at 0.05.
Results
The participants included 19 (67.9%) female nurses and 9 (32.1%) male nurses aged 37.6±7.6 years. In the exposure group, the mean score of SSS in the first period of exposure to ELF-MFs was 4.7±0.6; in the second period when the device was off, it was 4.7±0.7. There was no statistically significant difference in the SSS score of the exposure group between the first and second periods (P = 0.54). In the sham group, the mean score of SSS in the first period when the device turned off was 4.6±0.7; in the second period with exposure to ELF-MFs, it was 4.7±0.6. There was no statistically significant difference in the SSS score of the sham group between the first and second periods (P = 0.36). Furthermore, no significant difference was observed in the SSS score in the first and second periods between the two groups (P = 0.30). Moreover, no significant difference in the SSS score was observed between periods and the order of placement in each period (carryover effect = 0.97, period effect = 0.96).
Discussion
The present study showed that the use of ELF-MFs is not effective in improving the sleepiness of nurses that was assessed by a self-report tool. The findings of the present study are against the results of AmirFallah et al, who used the same protocol of ELF-MFs in terms of intensity, waveform, duration of exposure, and exposure areas, and reported that the female college students’ sleep quality were improved [1]. This discrepancy may be due to the difference in the sleep disorders of college students and nurses; sleep disorders in students may due to anxiety caused by studying and having exams, while the sleep disorders in night-shift nurses may be due to the disturbance of their circadian rhythm [2], disturbance by noise and light, and living conditions [3].
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
The research was approved by the ethical committee of Qom University of Medical Science (MUQ).
Funding
This study was supported by Qom University of Medical Science (MUQ).
Authors contributions
Methodology: All authors; Investigation, Writing-original draft, and Writing-review & editing: Fatemeh Hosseini, Fatemeh Ayoobi and Seyed Ali Shafiei; Data collection:Ali Akbari, Fatemeh Hosseini; Data analysis: Parvin Khalili; Funding acquisition and Resources: All authors.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Type of Study: Original Article |
Subject:
علوم پایه
Received: 2022/03/9 | Accepted: 2022/05/28 | Published: 2022/01/30
Received: 2022/03/9 | Accepted: 2022/05/28 | Published: 2022/01/30
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