Maine Journal - May 2021
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Page 12 ANA <strong>Maine</strong> <strong>Journal</strong> <strong>May</strong>, June, July <strong>2021</strong><br />
Nurses: Five Ways to Improve Your Sleep<br />
Reprinted with permission from Confident Voices in Healthcare https://www.<br />
confidentvoices.com/<strong>2021</strong>/03/15/nurses-5-ways-to-improve-your-sleep<br />
By Dr. Tadeh Vartanian<br />
INTRO<br />
Each one of us has a unique sleep requirement. Nurses<br />
specifically have even more unique requirements for<br />
sleep. Long hours at work, odd hours throughout the<br />
night, high-stress environment that makes relaxing after<br />
work much harder, and the tendency to constantly pick<br />
up more shifts are all reasons why 27% of nurses take<br />
sleep aids on a regular basis.<br />
We know that sleep has an impact on our immune<br />
system, enabling us to fend off infections. It also<br />
improves our motor function and ensures we don’t get<br />
into a car accident while driving. It regulates our body Dr. Tadeh Vartanian<br />
weight and ensures our blood sugar and fat deposits<br />
are regulated as normal. Good sleep allows us to form memories, not only when<br />
learning but when making long-lasting impressions of our lives and really living it to<br />
the best way we can.<br />
Good sleep also enables nurses to do the crucial work they have on hand.<br />
Treating patients requires a sharp mind for catching errors, documenting properly,<br />
administering time-sensitive medications, and more. Poor sleep is not something<br />
that nurses and their patients can afford.<br />
So how do nurses get the crucial seven to nine hours of sleep that is<br />
recommended by the National Sleep Foundation?<br />
LIGHT<br />
Light plays a large role in how our bodies decide when to prepare for sleep or<br />
prepare to be awake. 1 While sunlight is the main thing that signals our brain to stay<br />
awake, the devices that live in our pockets, on our walls, and in our rooms can have<br />
a similar effect.<br />
A recent report found that using an electronic device with blue LED light, like<br />
an iPad, for two hours prior to bed blocked the rise of melatonin. 2 Compared to<br />
reading a printed book, reading an iPad suppressed melatonin by a significant 23%.<br />
Not only did sleep onset become more difficult, but the sleep quantity and quality of<br />
the participants were made worse too.<br />
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Melissa.lasley@va.gov<br />
207-387-3870<br />
So, do we get rid of all our electronic devices? Of course not. But we’ll do well<br />
to eliminate the use of them one hour prior to bedtime. 3 We can fill that hour<br />
with other duties such as preparing lunch for the next day, cleaning up our home,<br />
reading, writing, or speaking with people around us.<br />
CAFFEINE<br />
Caffeine, the most widely<br />
used (and abused) psychoactive<br />
stimulant in the world, can be<br />
found in coffee, sodas, foods,<br />
supplements, and more. It works<br />
by battling with adenosine for<br />
the binding sites (receptors) in<br />
the brain that provide the urge<br />
to sleep. 4 By urge, we mean<br />
propensity or the strong desire to<br />
sleep, as increased adenosine in<br />
one’s body provides the urge for<br />
wanting to sleep.<br />
Here’s something else you<br />
may not have known: caffeine<br />
has an average half-life of five<br />
to seven hours. That means after<br />
having a morning cup of coffee, about half of the caffeine is still in your body by<br />
early afternoon, and one quarter of it is still there in the evening.<br />
What we are hinting at, however, is that limiting your consumption as it gets later<br />
in the day will help set up a situation optimal for uninterrupted sleep. In a study<br />
published in the <strong>Journal</strong> of Clinical Sleep Medicine, a team of scientists concluded<br />
that consumption of caffeine beyond six hours prior to your desired sleep time will<br />
be disruptive to your sleep. 5 For example, if your target time to sleep is at 9:00 p.m.,<br />
you should aim to stop any consumption of caffeine by 3:00 p.m.<br />
ROUTINE<br />
So, what are some routines you can practice to enhance your sleep at night?<br />
Go to bed at the same time each night on most nights. We have a set bedtime<br />
for patients, and you should too. That routine allows your body to anticipate sleep<br />
over time, and having your body do the work naturally is always much easier than<br />
forcing a bedtime. On the other end, having a reasonable wake up time each<br />
morning will also give your body a routine it can count on. Nothing too aggressive,<br />
but something reasonable is best.<br />
Take a relaxing shower or bath. Read before you turn off the lights, on a nonelectronic<br />
device. Easier said than done with our crazy work hours, but as best that<br />
we can do it is always a plus. Anything that can also be done on your work days is<br />
what counts.<br />
NOISE<br />
First, it’s important to differentiate white noise from disruptive noise. White<br />
noise can be highly beneficial for sleep and the reason for that is it can help drown<br />
out disruptive noise that might signal to our body to wake up out of defense. 6 If<br />
you’ve ever been startled by an unexpected noise, you’ve experienced the reaction<br />
we have to noises. This same experience can occur while we’re sleeping and while<br />
it’s important to know what is going on around you, limiting disruptive noise in<br />
your bedroom will help you fall asleep and stay asleep longer. Start by putting your<br />
phone on silent, putting your TV on a sleep timer if you use it as white noise, and<br />
soundproofing windows if you’re near noisy roads.<br />
In essence, treat your sleep room and area as a quiet sanctuary. Do all that you<br />
can to reduce noise to get a good night’s sleep. This is where those living with you<br />
Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital<br />
Where You and Your Work Matter<br />
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Visit https://www.thinkvermont.com/ today!<br />
At VPCH nurses are leaders of innovation and change and are pivotal in the<br />
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Executive, at stephanie.s.shaw@vermont.gov or (802)828-3059.
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