Assessment of the Chronotypes of Nurses Working in Shifts and the Quality of Their Lives

Objective: This research was conducted to identify the relationship between the chronotypes of nurses working in shifts and the quality of their lives. Methods: The research sample that was designed as a descriptive study comprised 267 nurses working in shifts. The research data were collected with the descriptive survey form, the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, and the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Results: As per the breakdown of the nurses by chronotype, 68.9% of the nurses were intermediate-type (n=184), 15.7% of the nurses were morning-type (n=42), and 15.4% of the nurses were evening-type (n=41). The evening-type nurses had a higher number of night shifts than the morning-type nurses (p<0.05). It was found that the evening-type nurses had a lower quality of life than the morning-type and intermediate-type nurses (p<0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, it was ascertained that the evening-type nurses working in shifts had a lower quality of life. Nurses' shifts can be organized by taking into consideration their chronotypes.