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Effects of personal control over hospital noise on sleep
Author(s) -
Topf Margaret
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
research in nursing and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1098-240X
pISSN - 0160-6891
DOI - 10.1002/nur.4770150105
Subject(s) - sleep (system call) , audiology , noise (video) , quiet , psychology , sleep stages , rapid eye movement sleep , analysis of variance , medicine , electroencephalography , polysomnography , psychiatry , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , computer science , image (mathematics) , operating system
Critical Care Unit (CCU) sound levels, subjective stress due to noise, and sleep were studied in 105 female volunteers in a simulated hospital environment. Subjects were randomly assigned to instruction in personal control over noise via the availability of a sound conditioner, no instruction in personal control over noise, or quiet conditions. Subjects in the two noise conditions heard audiotape‐recorded CCU nighttime sounds while attempting to sleep overnight in the laboratory. The intervention did not facilitate better sleep as measured by polysomnograph equipment and self‐report. However, the results provided strong support for a causal relationship between CCU sounds and poorer sleep. When compared to the quiet condition, subjects in the noise conditions had poorer sleep efficiency; more difficulty falling and staying asleep; more difficulty progressing from one stage of sleep to the next; more intrasleep awakenings; spent less time in Rapid Eye Movement sleep; and poorer sleep via self‐report (all ps < 0.03). As predicted, scores for subjective stress due to CCU sounds yielded significant relationships with 9 of 16 measures of sleep (all ps <0.01). Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that 13% ( p <0.001) and close to 6% ( p <0.05) of the variance in sleep efficiency was accounted for by CCU sound levels and noise‐induced subjective stress, respectively. Thirty‐eight percent ( p <0.001) of the variance in Rapid Eye Movement sleep was accounted for by CCU sound levels.