Sleep difficulties in older adults often worsen, and for
this group the nurse can create an environment more conducive
to sleep by decreasing environmental stimuli, particularly
noise, which has been shown to be a major hindrance
to sleep.
Noise not only disrupts rest and sleep but also increases
stress response so that patients become more alert
and vigilant when sleep is needed. Strategies include closing
the patient’s door, placing phones on low volume,
speaking at lower volumes, and dimming the lights an intervention
found to work because it causes people to lower
their voices. Interestingly,
noise from staff has been found
to be the most significant disturbance.
Nurses also can avoid disrupting sleep by clustering patient care activities to allow
sufficient time for sleep, especially in intensive care areas.
Providing at least a 6 hour uninterrupted period can result in
self-reported sleep improvement