understanding the effect of VARYING LIGHT AND NOISE LEVELS throughout the day in CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS hospitalized in the intensive care unit

Background: The circadian rhythm, or the sleep-wake cycle, is influenced by one’s exposure to light and noise. If this cycle is disrupted, the quality of sleep decreases, and critically ill patients have an increased risk for additional illness and impaired recovery. In the intensive care setting, different medical technology is used, leading to increased noise levels. Short bursts of light throughout the night is common in the ICU as these patients require specialized twenty-four hour care. These factors lead to decreased quality of sleep while in the ICU. Purpose: By understanding the effect of light and noise on the patient’s circadian rhythm, interventions can be utilized to promote sleep, thus promoting patient outcomes. Review: Literature has found increased light and noise to negatively affect the critically ill patient’s quality of sleep. Additionally, light exposure throughout the day in the ICU is low, and noise remains stable in the night, thus disturbing the sleep-wake cycle. Others tested solutions, like by lowering the light before and during hours of sleep, and providing eye masks and ear plugs to patients at night, which showed a lower arousal index while asleep. Methods: Protocol including the installation of monitors at the head of the bed to measure light and noise levels in each room to ensure adequate light throughout the day and decreased light and noise at night. Also, offering light and noise reduction devices would mitigate unavoidable light and noise. Evaluation: The success of this recommendation will be measured by comparing the light and noise data, patient use of the light and noise reduction devices, patient’s sleep surveys, length of stay, and health outcomes. It would take one year to appropriately judge the effectiveness of the recommendation due to the variation among patient conditions and to gather an accurate report of the measurable factors