This study aimed to assess the overall level of sleep quality among female staff nurses in the United States during the early COVID-19 pandemic. It also aimed to examine factors associated with sleep quality and its seven subcomponents: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, use of sleeping medications, and daytime dysfunction. A descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study design was used. We performed descriptive, and regression analyses with a sample of 215 female staff nurses enrolled in post-licensure online nursing programs at a southeastern state university. Data collection was conducted using an online survey from April to May 2020. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Nurses working part time (p = 0.02), with lower perceived physical health (p = 0.01), a lower self-care self-regulation score (p < 0.001), and higher work stress (p < 0.05) showed poorer sleep quality. Factors associated with subcomponents of sleep quality varied. Poor sleep quality among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic was reported. Various factors, including work environmental factors were associated with the sleep quality in this sample. Hospital administrators should consider developing intervention programs for improving the work environment, which would impact sleep quality, health status, and job performance.

Background: Little evidence exists for effects of low-intensity exercises such as stretching on cardiovascular health in pregnant women. Aim: Our aim was to evaluate the effect of a 20-minute stretching exercise on heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure (BP), and heart rate (HR) in healthy pregnant women. Methods: In 15 pregnant women with a mean (SD) age of 29.47 (4.07) years and mean (SD) gestational weeks of 26.53 (8.35), HRV, and BP were measured before and after the 20-minute stretching exercise. Results: Compared with before the stretching exercise, standard deviation of the normal-to-normal intervals, total variability of heart rate, increased by 7.40 milliseconds (t = −2.31, P = .04) and root mean square of successive differences, a surrogate measure of parasympathetic outflow, also increased by 11.68 milliseconds (Z = −2.04, P = .04) after the stretching exercise. Diastolic BP and HR decreased by 2.13 mm Hg (t = 1.93, P = .07) and 3.31 bpm (t = 2.17, P = .05), respectively, but they did not reach statistical significance. Discussion: These preliminary data suggest that 20 minutes of stretching exercise may promote cardiovascular health by attenuating the loss of parasympathetic tone associated with pregnancy.

Contemplative practices promote well-being, work engagement and resilience among health care providers. We examined the impact of The Pause, a brief contemplative intervention, on health care providers’ physiological stress response. Participants were randomly assigned to either The Pause or the control group. They participated in a high-fidelity, stressful medical simulation. Following the simulation, intervention group practiced The Pause. Outcome measures were heart rate variability, heart rate, and blood pressure. We adjusted for baseline physiological variables, sociodemographic variables, self-care practices, and perceived stress. Participants in the intervention group had a standard deviation of the normal-to-normal RR intervals (heart rate variability indicator) that was 13.8 (95% CI 4.0, 23.5; p < .01) points higher than those in the control group. There were no significant effects of The Pause on heart rate or blood pressure. The Pause may reduce stress reactivity, increase heart rate variability, and enhance resilience in health care providers.