Patients sleep an hour and a half less time in the hospital than at home –

At the hospital, patients sleep on average nearly an hour and a half shorter than at home. They also wake up more often between periods and sleep less often.

This is the result of recent research conducted with more than two thousand patients in 39 Dutch hospitals. The guilty? The noise of other patients who, for example, complain of pain, bright light in the hallway and nurses coming in and out. In addition to lack of sleep, the quality of sleep in a hospital is less appreciated than at home. The research was initiated by acute internists and coordinated by Amsterdam UMC, venue VUmc in collaboration with the Netherlands Brain Institute and Rijnstate in Arnhem. "Now that we know this and how many patients sleep less well during a hospital stay, it's time to pay more attention to this," said lead researcher Prabath Nanayakkara [19659003]. week was published in JAMA Internal Medicine, watched the night sleep both at the hospital and at home. With this research, doctors want to know more about the perceived sleep quality of patients and what needs to be changed in order to improve nighttime sleep in hospitals.

Quality of Sleep

Research shows that patients on average three quarters of an hour earlier wake up and not spontaneously in seventy percent of cases. The quality of nighttime sleep is also worse than at home: patients wake up more tired and restless and feel less sleepy. This is partly explained by their illness (nausea, pain, anxiety), but more often by hospital factors such as the noise of other patients and staff, a bright light in the hallway, uncomfortable beds, beeps infusion systems, and drugs to urinate

We expect patients to adapt to our routine rather than adapt to the patients' routine, according to Nanayakkara. "That means they stay awake or are awake, we knew it, but it was not that bad, we did not know it."

Physical and Emotional Stress

This Study Matters because a bad night's rest can hinder healing. In addition, it makes patients vulnerable to physical and emotional stress. During a hospital stay, everything is usually done so that patients recover as quickly as possible. However, little is known about the quality of sleep in hospitals

Sleep Optimization at Night

Results suggest that doctors and nurses should focus more on sleep optimization based on symptoms disturbing. factors that emerged from this research. A follow-up study is being prepared to improve night rest in hospitals. For example, what could help? Many doctors and nurses walk with hooves in the hallways, which gives an icy sound. These could be replaced by "soft shoes"

See also:

"Our IQ drops when we sleep too little"

The message Patients sleep an hour and a half shorter in a hospital than 39, at home first.

The message Patients sleep on average an hour and a half less time in hospital than at their home in Apeldoorn

The message Patients sleep on average hour and a half shorter at the hospital than at Harderwijk