TY - JOUR TI - Sleep in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-4jp7-hx73 PY - 2020 AB - Background: Environmental factors such as noise, light, early morning care activities, alarms from monitors, and conversations between health care personnel may prevent patients from achieving adequate rest in the ICU. The purpose of this project was to implement a protocol for a designated Quiet Time to promote sleep in the CTICU. Method: Men and women who could read and write in English; between the age of 18 and under 89 years; post-op patients who were in the CTICU for at least 48 hours post-extubation, The Quiet Time (12 am to 4 am), protocol interventions included delaying specific activities that are commonly done at the convenience of the hospital staff. Patients were provided with Quiet Time kits including an eye mask and earplugs. Nursing staff clustered their care activities. Sleep quality was evaluated using the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ) (a visual analog scale, ranging 0–100) Results/Outcomes: Data from 44 patients (22 in the pre-intervention group, 22 in the intervention group) were analyzed. Significant differences were found between groups in the depth of sleep, falling asleep, awakenings, falling asleep again after awakening, and overall sleep quality (p < 0.05). Sleep quality was improved and noise levels were decreased. The Implication of Practice: Quiet Time interventions are useful for promoting sleep in ICU adult patients; larger sample studies are needed to examine the influences of these factors in improving sleep in hospitalized patients. KW - Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner KW - Sleep LA - English ER -