Sleepless at Scripps: The Use of White Noise to Increase Sleep Duration in Hospitalized Patients, a Prospective Study
Scripps Health
Summary
Sleep is an important part of the healing process, and patients admitted to the hospital often report poor sleep. Patients have difficulty not only falling sleep, but also staying asleep. Prior studies show that hospital noise may be a contributing factor, and in particular, sound level changes (which refers to an increase in sound above the background/baseline noise level) may cause arousals from sleep. Based on preliminary data, this study aims to use white noise to reduce the number of relevant sound level changes that occur during a night of sleep in the hospital. Using a randomized, cross-over design, the investigators aim to enroll 45 inpatient adults (age ≥ 65 years) to receive "active," white noise (white noised played at 57-60 decibels) on one night of their stay, and "inactive," white noise (white noise played at 45-50 decibels) on an alternate night. Three major primary outcomes will be investigated - 1) objective sleep duration as measured using actigraphy, 2)objectively measured sleep fragmentation using actigraphy, and 3) subjective sleep quality using the Richards Campbell Sleep Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes will include sound level changes in the room (measured using sound meters), as well as morning blood glucose (for diabetic/prediabetic patients) and blood pressure measurements. Delirium will be measured twice daily through the inpatient stay in a secondary analysis to compare levels of sleep fragmentation to delirium incidence.
Description
Methods (Intervention and Study Design). This study will use a randomized cross-over framework. The investigators have chosen a design that will allow for pair-wise comparisons of sleep for each participant. Participants will receive white noise on the 2nd (night A) and 3rd (night B) night of the hospital stay. Patients will be randomized to receive inactive white noise (45-50 dB) on either night A or B and active white noise (57-60 dB) on the alternate night. An unblinded study staff member will dispense a machine calibrated to either active or inactive white noise on the first night, and wil…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Over 18 years old * Admitted to inpatient internal medicine service for at least 3 nights Exclusion Criteria: \-
Interventions
- DeviceActive white noise
Active white noise of 57 dB - 60 dB from 10 pm to 6 am
- DeviceInactive white noise
Sham comparator - white noise machine played at lower decibel level not expected to impact sound level changes
Location
- Scripps HealthLa Jolla, California