We all know it’s painful to be awakened multiple times in the night while we’re in the hospital. Surprise. Now there’s a quantified set of stats to prove the crummy quality of sleep in the hospital, beyond being just uncomfortable, is actually damaging to our health.
Both the levels and the types of hospital night noise were measured in this study and found to seriously disrupt the brain activity and cardiovascular function of patients who are there trying to heal. And that’s not even counting all the times they come into your room on purpose, turn on the lights and wake you up to poke, prod and peer at you.
This study results were conclusive enough that the researchers recommend immediate efforts to decrease noise in existing medical care facilities and ensure that new facilities are built to respect this new understanding of the importance of sleep for recovery.