de Castro and Ward are co-authors on Rejto’s study on Nursing Work Schedules and Sleep Health
Posted: 11/20/2025 (CSDE Research)
CSDE External Affiliate Butch de Castro (Seattle University) and CSDE Affiliate Teresa M Ward (Pediatrics), with primary author Natalie Rejto and co-authors Mayumi Willgerodt and Elaine Walsh, recently had an article published in the Western Journal of Nursing Research, titled “Nursing Work Schedules, Specialties, Sleep Hygiene, and the Impact on Sleep Health.” This research was part of Rejto’s PhD work and supervised by the other authors on the research team. The study examined whether sleep hygiene behaviors moderated the association between job characteristics and sleep health among nurse using cross-sectional data from the Nurses’ Health Study 3. Working 12-hour or longer shifts was not associated with decreased odds of healthy sleep compared with working <12-hour shifts on working days or work-free days. Working in schools and critical care was associated with 50% or higher odds of unhealthy sleep compared with working in the operating room and oncology. Findings suggest sleep hygiene behaviors cannot fully mitigate the effect of job characteristics on sleep health.