SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND EMOTIONAL EXHAUSTION IN HOSPITAL WORKERS

Abstract

Sleep deprivation among hospital workers constitutes a widely documented occupational health problem in the scientific literature, with direct repercussions on emotional exhaustion and the development of Burnout Syndrome. This study analyzes the relationships between sleep deprivation and emotional exhaustion among health professionals working in hospital settings, with emphasis on the mechanisms by which the organization of work in rotating shifts and night shifts contributes to occupational illness. The research adopts a qualitative approach of bibliographic nature, with an exploratory and descriptive design, based on a systematic survey in the SciELO, PubMed/MEDLINE, VHL and Scopus databases, covering the period between 2018 and 2024. The results indicate that chronic sleep deprivation impairs emotional regulation, reduces the capacity to respond to stress, and increases the risk of emotional exhaustion, forming a cycle of progressive deterioration that affects both worker health and patient safety. The analysis of the literature demonstrates that organizational interventions — shift reorganization, limitation of consecutive working hours, and institutional support — show superior effectiveness compared to approaches focused exclusively on the individual. It is concluded that emotional exhaustion among hospital workers is the product of organizational conditions amenable to intervention, which reinforces the need for evidence-based institutional occupational health policies.