A new study is suggests that to help patients sleep better and experience less pain, hospitals should change their lighting, following a natural light-dark cycle. Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic found that the lack of fluctuation between low light and bright light – like a typical sleep-wake cycle, there’s bright light during the day and darkness at night—in hospitals contributes to poor sleep, more fatigue and more pain among patients.
The study included 23 women and 17 men who were admitted to a hospital between May 2011 and April 2012. Researchers analyzed their light exposure, mood and pain levels for 72 hours each.
The patients generally got fragmented sleep, and about an average 4 hours of sleep each night. An association between fatigue and bad mood and low light exposure was found, as well as a link between pain levels and fatigue.
Higher light exposure was associated with less fatigue and lower mood disturbance in participants with pain. It all suggests that there is a need for more investigation to determine if manipulating lighting exposure for medical inpatients would be beneficial in affecting sleep – wake disturbances, mood and pain.
Finding cost effective ways to help patients feel better through sleep, could provide a better patient outcomes. Based on the study, maybe bringing along a light box for long hospital stays may yield positive results. Always put your health, especially sleep first!
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