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Is your physio tired? Exploring sleep deprivation in Irish physiotherapists

INTRODUCTION: Health professionals have been subject to increased levels fatigue when compared to population norms. It remains unknown if physiotherapists report high levels of sleep deprivation. This paper explores levels of sleep deprivation, and its potential impact on professional performance. METHODS: A survey was distributed through the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists. The survey explored work characteristics, sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, daytime sleepiness using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and the professional and non-professional causes of sleep deprivation in the profession. Pearson correlation and independent t-tests were used on SPSS to explore relationship between variables. RESULTS: There was a total of 559 valid respondents. Females accounted for 82% and public sector employees accounted for 63% of respondents. Over half (50.1%) of respondents said they felt sleep deprivation impacted on their practice. Most physiotherapists (63.3%) of respondents said they did not feel that their practice impacted sleep. The PSQI global score was 5.6 indicating “poor” quality of sleep. The ESS global score was 6.0 indicating ‘higher normal daytime sleepiness’. Potential causes of sleep deprivation included professional issues relating to burnout and work-life balance, and non-professional reasons such as parenthood. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: A mismatch exists between self-reported sleep deprivation and validated measurements of sleep indicating poor self-awareness of the impact of sleep in optimising professional performance. A work-life balance is needed to facilitate a safe and efficient workforce. Individual and organizational efforts should be made to improve sleep quantity and quality to reduce personnel fatigue and enhance physiotherapists professional performance.