Many who need restorative rest most might not be able to get it.
Why? They’re in a hospital. Even at night, a hospital can be a
noisy place. And research has shown that these noise levels have
been rising for decades. A new study finds that electronic
noises in particular interfere with sleep. Researchers followed
the sleep patterns of a dozen healthy volunteers as they spent
three nights sleeping in a lab. Their hours of darkness were
punctuated with 14 different recorded hospital sounds played at
varying volumes. Even when electronic sounds, such as alarm
beeps, were played at the level of a whisper, volunteers
slightly roused from sleep. The findings are in the journal
Annals of Internal Medicine. [Orfeu Buxton et al., "Sleep
Disruption Due to Hospital Noises: A Prospective Evaluation"]
When the volunteers' sleep was disrupted, their heart rate
increased. This frequently elevated heart rate could be
especially bad for recovery. A little peace and quiet could make
for a lot more restful nights. [The above t