Abstract
Sleep in the intensive care unit (ICU) is considered to be subjectively poor, highly
fragmented, and sometimes referred to as “atypical.” Although sleep is felt to be
crucial for patient recovery, little is known about the association of sleep with
physiologic function among critically ill patients, or those with clinically important
outcomes in the ICU. Research involving ICU-based sleep disturbance is challenging
due to the lack of objective, practical, reliable, and scalable methods to measure
sleep and the multifactorial etiologies of its disruption. Despite these challenges,
research into sleep-promoting techniques is growing and has demonstrated a variety
of causes leading to ICU-related sleep loss, thereby motivating multifaceted intervention
efforts. Through a focused review of (1) sleep measurement in the ICU; (2) outcomes
related to poor sleep in the ICU; and (3) ICU-based sleep promotion efforts including
environmental, nonpharmacological, and pharmacological interventions, this paper examines
research regarding sleep in the ICU and highlights the need for future investigation
into this complex and dynamic field.
Keywords
sleep - intensive care - critical care - delirium
