EMS Professionals Sleep Disturbance: A Cross-sectional Study.
Journal of occupational and environmental medicine · 2025-10-30 · Observational study
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) routinely encounter potentially traumatic events as part of their professional responsibilities, increasing their risk for mental health comorbidities contributing to significant sleep disturbance. Prior research has identified psychological resilience as a protective factor against negative mental health outcomes. METHODS: This study examined trauma exposure, attachment dimensions, resilience, depression, generalized anxiety, and suicide as predictors of sleep disturbance. RESULTS: We conducted a hierarchical regression, and the final model was significant ( F (11,69) = 12.58, P < 0 .001), accounting for 61.4% of the sleep disturbance variance. Notably, resilience and suicide were associated with improved sleep quality, whereas generalized anxiety and depression were predictive of increased sleep disturbance. CONCLUSIONS: These findings contribute to the growing body of literature on sleep disturbance and underscore the multifaceted nature of psychological factors influencing sleep quality.