The Effect of the Sleep Promotion Interventions on Incidence of Delirium in Intensive Care Patients: An Integrative Literature Review

Sleep is vital to our health, and prolonged sleep deprivation can result in serious health problems. Yet, patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) commonly experience sleep deprivation due to the environment and necessary treatments. High noise levels, bright lights, frequent patient care activities, mechanical ventilator desynchrony, pain, anxiety, and medications are the main factors that disrupt patients’ sleep architecture and affect sleep quality. Sleep deprivation is a significant contributor to the development of delirium, which is associated with poor patient outcomes and added financial burden. Implementation of sleep promotion interventions may decrease the incidence of this detrimental illness. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to explore sleep promotion interventions and their efficacy on reducing the incidence of delirium in critically ill patients. Eight research studies of varying levels of evidence, including one clinical practice guideline and three systematic reviews, were analyzed. Based on the literature review, the effectiveness of sleep promotion interventions for decreasing the prevalence of delirium is inconclusive. However, most research concluded a bundle of interventions was effective in improved sleep quality. With poor sleep, one of the modifiable factors on delirium in the ICU, bedside nurses can play a crucial role in preventing delirium by implementing a bundle of sleep promotion interventions