Sleep in the Hospital

We underestimate how much discomfort we put patients through simply by admitting them to the hospital. Imagine being woken multiple times at night for someone to poke and prod, shine lights in your eyes, take a blood pressure. Imagine, even worse, in the ICU when machines begin beeping every five minutes, when you cannot get more than an hour of uninterrupted rest, when you cannot eat, when you cannot count how many lines and tubes are coming out of your body. When I think about how cranky I can be when I am awoken by a page, I can't imagine what it must be like to be in the ICU. Furthermore, patients with a breathing tube often cannot communicate, and that must compound that feeling of being trapped so much more.

One condition we see quite often in the unit is ICU delirium, a state of confusion seen in elderly, sick patients where their mental status waxes and wanes. No wonder they cannot think straight. We subject them to so many discomforts, and I worry that some of these are against their will. So many family members want "everything possible done" for their loved ones, but everything has its risks and benefits. I have come to appreciate the consequences of simply being admitted to the hospital.