The study, authored by Lisa J. Meltzer, PhD, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, focused on 81 children between six and 21 years of age and 82 parents, who completed the Sleep in a Children’s Hospital questionnaire, providing information about sleep habits at home, the previous night’s sleep while hospitalized, and sleep disruptors (e.g., pain, noise, procedures).
According to the results, sleep patterns significantly differed during hospitalization, with younger children reporting a later bedtime, later wake time, more night wakings, and shorter total sleep time, and older children reporting a significantly later wake time, more night wakings, and longer total sleep time. There was a first-night effect for hospitalization of significantly earlier wake time and shorter total sleep time. Fourteen percent of children took medication for sleep while hospitalized (vs. two percent at home). Parents reported significantly more night wakings. Alarms on medical equipment and people talking in the hallway were the most bothersome noises for both children and parents, while nurses taking vital signs, the child’s pain, and noise in the room were the most frequent sleep disruptors.
“Sleep is significantly disrupted for hospitalized pediatric patients and their parents, especially for younger children and on the first night of hospitalization,” said Dr. Meltzer. “As sleep is essential for health and healing, interventions are needed to address the causes of these sleep disruptions, including reducing noise and optimizing pain management.”
It is recommended that school-aged children get between 10-11 hours of nightly sleep, children in pre-school between 11-13 hours, and adults between seven to eight hours.-American Academy of Sleep Medicine
