Quality and Quantity of Sleep and Factors Associated With Sleep Disturbance in Hospitalized Patients.
Hilde M Wesselius, Eva S van den Ende, Jelmer Alsma, Jan C Ter Maaten, Stephanie C E Schuit, Patricia M Stassen, Oscar J de Vries, Karin H A H Kaasjager, Harm R Haak, Frederiek F van Doormaal, Jacobien J Hoogerwerf, Caroline B Terwee, Peter M van de Ven, Frank H Bosch, Eus J W van Someren, Prabath W B Nanayakkara, “Onderzoeks Consortium Acute Geneeskunde” Acute Medicine Research Consortium
Author Information
Hilde M Wesselius: Section of Acute Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, and Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Eva S van den Ende: Section of Acute Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, and Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Jelmer Alsma: Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Jan C Ter Maaten: Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Stephanie C E Schuit: Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Patricia M Stassen: Department of Internal Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Oscar J de Vries: Department of Internal Medicine, , Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Karin H A H Kaasjager: Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Harm R Haak: Department of Internal Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Frederiek F van Doormaal: Department of Internal Medicine, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Jacobien J Hoogerwerf: Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Caroline B Terwee: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Peter M van de Ven: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Frank H Bosch: Department of Internal Medicine, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, the Netherlands.
Eus J W van Someren: Department of Sleep and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Prabath W B Nanayakkara: Section of Acute Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, and Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Importance: Although inadequate sleep has a proven negative association with health care outcomes, to date, no large-scale studies have examined sleep in general hospital wards. Objectives: To assess the subjective quantity and quality of sleep and to identify the hospital-related factors associated with sleep disturbances in hospitalized patients. Design: For this nationwide, single-day, multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study, which took place on February 22, 2017, all hospitals in the Netherlands were encouraged by word of mouth and conventional and social media to participate in this study. A total of 39 hospitals participated. Included patients were at least 18 years of age, were able to give informed consent, and had spent at least 1 night in a regular-care hospital ward. Exposures: Hospitalization in a regular-care ward. Main Outcomes and Measures: Quantity and quality of last night's sleep in the hospital compared with habitual sleep at home the month before hospitalization. The Consensus Sleep Diary and the Dutch-Flemish Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Sleep Disturbance item bank were used. Complementary questions assessed sleep-disturbing factors. Results: A total of 2005 patients were included (median age, 68 years; interquartile range, 57-77 years; 994 of 1935 [51.4%] were male [70 patients did not identify their sex]). Compared with habitual sleep at home, the total sleep time in the hospital was 83 minutes (95% CI, 75-92 minutes; P < .001) shorter. The mean number of nocturnal awakenings was 2.0 (95% CI, 1.9-2.1) times at home vs 3.3 (95% CI, 3.2-3.5) times during hospitalization (P < .001). Patients woke up 44 minutes (95% CI, 44-45 minutes; P < .001) earlier than their habitual wake-up time at home. A total of 1344 patients (70.4%) reported having been awakened by external causes, which in 718 (35.8%) concerned hospital staff. All aspects of sleep quality measured using PROMIS questions were rated worse during hospitalization than at home. The most reported sleep-disturbing factors were noise of other patients, medical devices, pain, and toilet visits. Conclusions and Relevance: This study demonstrated that the duration and quality of sleep in hospitalized patients were significantly affected and revealed many potentially modifiable hospital-related factors negatively associated with sleep. Raising awareness about the importance of adequate sleep in the vulnerable hospital population and introducing interventions to target sleep-disturbing factors may improve healing.
