“Within the worked shift, rest breaks are short periods for employees to disengage from work activities and recuperate, at least partially, from the accumulated job strains and fatigue. The duration of breaks may range from a couple of minutes to 1 hour. In the
United States, rest break duration under federal regulations is classified into compensated rest periods (ie, 5-20 minutes) and unpaid meal periods (ie, 30 minutes or more).1 Typically, in the hospital environment, nurses at the bedside are allowed and expected to take 1 uninterrupted 30-minute meal break and offered an around 10- to 15-minute coffee break during a 12-hour shift. Many spend the time to eat, drink, rest, or nap, as well as socialize or listen to music.
Several studies found that taking rest breaks can benefit nurses, patients, and the organization. Nurses who took rest breaks had significantly better acute fatigue recovery and overall well-being, increased job satisfaction, and fewer patient-related adverse events
and intentions to leave the workplace.”

Sagherian, K., Cho, H., & Steege, L. M. (2023). The State of Rest Break Practices Among 12-Hour Shift Hospital Nurses in the United States. The Journal of nursing administration, 53(5), 277–283.

Landis, T. T., Wilson, M., Bigand, T., & Cason, M. (2021). Registered nurses’ experiences taking breaks on night shift: A qualitative analysis. Workplace Health & Safety, 69(6), 252-256.

Van Dyck, S. E. (2021). An Examination of Nurses’ Schedule Characteristics, Recovery from Work, and Well-Being (Doctoral dissertation, Portland State University).

Lorusso, L., Ossmann, M., Orozco, T., & Lawson, L. (2023). On the restorative break: Understanding the role of break room design on nurse engagement and satisfaction. Workplace Health & Safety, 71(7), 329-336.

Sagherian, K., Cho, H., & Steege, L. M. (2023). The state of rest break practices among 12-hour shift hospital nurses in the united states. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 53(5), 277-283.

Rettig, A. E., Moore, K., Savona, E., & Scala, A. (2021). Take-a-Break Intervention: Improving oncology nurse wellness. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 25(2), 210–214.

Fordham, K., & Sorensen, J. (2023). Piloting a mindfulness app for use by nursing staff at work. Journal for nurses in professional development, 39(5), 255-260.

McCormick, E., & Ray-Barruel, G. (2024). Nurses. In Trauma, Resilience, and Posttraumatic Growth in Frontline Personnel (pp. 89-105). Routledge.