ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Brain Health and Clinical Neuroscience
This article is part of the Research TopicPrecision Medicine and Biomarkers in Common Brain DisordersView all 3 articles
The Protective Association of Mindfulness Non-Reactivity with Depression among Clinical Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China
- 2Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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Background: Clinical nurses are essential to healthcare, but they experience high rates of depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. This study examined the relationships among occupational stressors, sleep problems, mindfulness, and psychological well-being in hospital nurses. Methods: In a cross-sectional study of 416 clinical nurses from a tertiary general hospital in China, we assessed mindfulness, depression, anxiety, sleep quality, insomnia, and work stress. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models explored independent factors associated with depression, focusing on mindfulness dimensions. Results: Depression was highly prevalent (56.0%), as were clinical insomnia (52.4%) and poor sleep quality (54.6%). Multivariate analysis identified poor sleep quality (OR = 4.36, 95% CI: 2.57–7.37), insomnia (OR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.25–3.75), and high work stress (OR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.22–3.49) were significantly associated with an increased risk of depression. Notably, of the five mindfulness facets, only non-reactivity associated with a reduced risk of depression (OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.80–0.98). This association was consistent, showing a significant linear association in linear regression (B=-0.41, p=0.038) and stability across work stress levels. Conclusion: This study highlights the severe mental health burden among clinical nurses and establish mindfulness non-reactivity as a key factor significantly associated with a reduced risk of depression, suggesting that targeted interventions to enhance this skill may be beneficial.
Keywords: Clinical nurses, Depression, mindfulness, Non-reactivity, sleep quality
Received: 20 Jan 2026; Accepted: 05 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Gu, Qin, Yang, Lin, Ye and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Liping Chen
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