Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors
1–10 of 113 posts
Re: Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors
#2My 9 year old son had a hospital stay a while ago. I stayed with him in the hospital, I got less sleep than when he was an infant with the constant interruptions....
When we returned home in the afternoon ....we both took naps.
Re: Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors
#3We were in the hospital for 2 nights recently. On the second day we counted how often people got in and out of the room: 29 times. We decided to return home a day earlier than planned.
Re: Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors
#4I had an infuriating experience with a young child in the hospital, where routine checks were being performed at the worst possible times for his sleep cycles. Sleeping is so critical to healing. Could it be that hospitals are being counterproductive, sacrificing effectiveness for efficiency?
Re: Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors
#5I've recently had similar experiences with a loved one.
Older (Geriatric) friend of mine, serious medical condition, which necessitated (I'm told) continuous tests, medication & checks to be run to make sure he was in a "serious but stable" condition instead of a "on the way to death" situation.
But this was for a number of days (nearly a week) and essentially it meant the few times he was able to sleep past the pain/illness, he'd be woken up within a few hours for another round of tests, medication, etc.
He managed to get through it somehow, and I don't have any solutions to how they could have done it better (I'm no doctor), but it can't help the condition that he was getting by on one to two hours of sleep a day on top of the medical problems.
Re: Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors
#6It's not just tests. It's also constant beeping and the light from the hallway.
Re: Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors
#7My wife has been in the hospital regularly over the past 18 months probably 20 days total. This is a renowned research hospital with a gorgeous, vibrant facility and spacious rooms.
They absolutely 100% ignore any semblance of a sleep cycle for their patients (as well as proper nutrition but that's for another day). Constant interruptions to check vitals, ask if we want to pick a meal, beeping infusion pumps, a whole squad going on rounds with banal questions...it seems to never end.
I'd like to find a watch/fitbit for her and either find or write an app that just fills the screen with a color based on her current sleep phase...green she's awake, yellow light sleep and red means she's in REM or deep sleep and should not be disturbed unless necessary. Place that by the door so the nurses can see and hopefully adjust their timing accordingly.
Re: Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors
#8I had an infuriating experience with a young child in the hospital, where routine checks were being performed at the worst possible times for his sleep cycles. Sleeping is so critical to healing. Could it be that hospitals are being counterproductive, sacrificing effectiveness for efficiency?
All they care about is the bottom line, which is money
Re: Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors
#9It is universal practice to wake you up all the time. Just to ensure you are not dead or ensure you are dead of sleep deprivation.
Re: Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors
#10I had an infuriating experience with a young child in the hospital, where routine checks were being performed at the worst possible times for his sleep cycles. Sleeping is so critical to healing. Could it be that hospitals are being counterproductive, sacrificing effectiveness for efficiency?
All they care about is the bottom line, which is money
All it takes is for one child to die overnight and the parents to sue and you can be sure all patients will get their vitals checked regularly. This is how healthcare works.
Source: am a doctor and see this kind of thing on small and large scales