Probably rich people in high end hospitals don't have this problem. I don't know this for a fact, I'm just comparing here the shitty experience that I had with the experience that a friend seemed to be having in a luxury hospital.
Why Do Hospitals Hate Sleep So Much?
11–20 of 528 posts
Re: Why Do Hospitals Hate Sleep So Much?
#12Since bootstrapping my own sleep aid startup ( https://trycosmo.com/ ), I've been surprised at the lack of priority society places on sleep in general. Better sleep would help patients recover better and shorten hospital stays. The inability to sleep, especially in the ICU, likely results in tens of thousands of unnecessary secondary infections and deaths per year. I like the author's approach of simply refusing to g…
> These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. > Your search - site:trycosmo.com peer review - did not match any documents Sounds promising. Untested sleep drugs, sign me up!
It's actually just melatonin, L-theanine and magnesium in one pill. So nothing sketchy but also not anything new or interesting. Just a combo pill like most other supplements on the market.
Re: Why Do Hospitals Hate Sleep So Much?
#13Hospitals are designed to collect money first and foremost.
Anything having to do with your healing is a secondary concern. The only occasional exceptions are in profit centers like OB.
Usually the night nursing staff are better as there are fewer doctors and managers around. When my wife and I were hospitalized for a few days at various points we quickly grew to hate the morning, as that’s when various parties would show up to say hello and log an encounter.
Re: Why Do Hospitals Hate Sleep So Much?
#14Not only are they "designed to allow patients as little sleep as possible", but also doctors too. Residents and doctors frequently have take on 30-36 hour shifts.. How they could effectively treat patients with this level sleep deprivation is beyond me.
Maybe hospitals just have a vendetta on sleep in general?
Re: Why Do Hospitals Hate Sleep So Much?
#15The article quotes a doctor speaking about nursing care. This is as accurate as asking an automotive engineer about automobile repair. Same field, different skill sets.
Nurses are trained to identify trends across many (sometimes too many) patients. Sure its inconvenient if a nurse monitors your blood pressure or oxygen levels every 2 hours after surgery, especially when you are sleeping, and especially if you recover perfectly.
But if you have a post-op internal bleed that occurs during the night, when you are asleep and unable to let someone know you are feeling woozy (because you are asleep), that's when trouble occurs. Frequent observations mean nurses can identify when things are going south before you get to an emergency situation.
Blood pressure drops sharply over 2 hours, monitor every 15 minutes, see if it stabilises. If it doesn't raise the alarm quickly.
Same with audio on machines, that constant beep is annoying to you, but it means the machines are operating and you are getting your prescribed fluids - silence on a night ward is a sign something is wrong, and quickly precedes an emergency alarm.
Re: Why Do Hospitals Hate Sleep So Much?
#16I basically lived in a hospital room for the past week, though I’m not sick. The machine that pumps and monitors your iv fluids constantly emits screaming alarm tones. An alarm can be triggered if you bend your arm the wrong way, obstructing the iv. But most often the alarm is triggered because of air in the line. You can silence the alarm. But if a patient is not accompanied by someone, they will probably have to sit there with the alarm going off for 10 to 20 minutes at a time before the nurse finally arrives and deactivates it. That happened to us once and I never left again after that.
And it’s true — nurses barge into the room quite unceremoniously, wake you up, and perform tests on you in the middle of the night. It’s very annoying and leaves everyone except the nurses very hagard in the morning.
Re: Why Do Hospitals Hate Sleep So Much?
#17I felt the question and answer to be a little flippant, which is fine, but hear this: Sometimes there are reasons, very genuine reasons. I've been recovering from a recent stay. I, too, was interrupted frequently - every 45 minutes in fact. After a few nods off and being woken up by a knock at the door repeatedly I asked 'why' and the staff gently explained that me sleeping for too long would be a bad idea for a few…
I don't think all hospital patients meet all (or even any) of the three points you listed. Hospitals should wake up folks that actually need it (e.g. folks like you in your past situation), and leave those who don't need it alone to sleep.
Re: Why Do Hospitals Hate Sleep So Much?
#18[deleted]
Re: Why Do Hospitals Hate Sleep So Much?
#19Not only are they "designed to allow patients as little sleep as possible", but also doctors too. Residents and doctors frequently have take on 30-36 hour shifts.. How they could effectively treat patients with this level sleep deprivation is beyond me. Maybe hospitals just have a vendetta on sleep in general?
Nah, overworked and understaffed because (in the US's for-profit hospitals) more staff == reduced margin.
Re: Why Do Hospitals Hate Sleep So Much?
#20My wife just finished up a 22 hour labor and is desperately trying to get some sleep but the nurses refuse to stop yelling and laughing directly outside of her door. It’s not even medical. Just rude.
Nurses cluck in packs like chickens, completely without concern for patients interrupting their social hour. You have to order them around because they're not smart or conscientious enough to do that on their own. If they were smarter, they would be doctors. They don't have empathy, so you have to pull rank or use a stick, because a carrot won't work.