Exercise, diet, and sleep habits of nurses working full-time during the COVID-19 pandemic: An observational study

Background: Healthy diet, exercise, and sleep practices may mitigate stress and prevent illness. However, lifestyle behaviors of acute care nurses working during stressful COVID-19 surges are unclear. Purpose: To quantify sleep, diet, and exercise practices of 12-hour acute care nurses working day or night shift during COVID-19-related surges. Methods: Nurses across 10 hospitals in the United States wore wrist actigraphs and pedometers to quantify sleep and steps and completed electronic diaries documenting diet over 7-days. Findings: Participant average sleep quantity did not meet national recommendations; night shift nurses (n = 23) slept significantly less before on-duty days when compared to day shift nurses (n = 34). Proportionally more night shift nurses did not meet daily step recommendations. Diet quality was low on average among participants. Discussion: Nurses, especially those on night shift, may require resources to support healthy sleep hygiene, physical activity practices, and diet quality to mitigate stressful work environments.