Hospital addresses barriers to patient rest, recovery

Editor's Note

Implementing targeted interventions in hospitals can address common disruptions in the inpatient setting and significantly improve patient restfulness, according to a December 12 article in HealthLeaders Media.

The article focuses on a study of nearly 700 patients conducted at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and published in JAMA Network Open. Researchers identified noisy environments, bright lights, pain, and medical care such as vital sign collection, medication administration, and blood draws as primary causes of poor sleep. These disruptions can reduce sleep by over an hour per night for hospitalized patients. Interventions leading patients to report improved rest included:

• Distributing a one-page educational document to staff to emphasize the importance of patient restfulness.
• Clustering nighttime care, reducing noise and light, and using red-wavelength flashlights instead of overhead lighting.
• Encouraging staff to limit interruptions for stable patients.
• Providing personalized rest environments, including sleep kits and white noise machines.