Hospitals are notorious for spreading infections, and this month we were reminded of another health hazard related to spending time in the hospital: getting little sleep.
A new study on how ICU patients in particular don’t get good restorative sleep has been making waves in the main news circles. While patients may look like they are sleeping (or at least trying with all their sickly might), they are not, in fact, sleeping well or getting the restorative sleep they need to heal quickly. Surprisingly, this study is one of the first to examine the sleep patterns of surgical and trauma patients.
The culprit? Constant disruptions by nurses and other hospital personnel that put a damper on a good night’s sleep. The study, which monitored the sleep patterns of 16 patients who had suffered traumatic injuries or had abdominal surgery, showed that they had fragmented and “superficial” sleep.
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