Insomnia - things to do that can make a difference

We are grateful to Ruth Boden, a senior staff nurse at Walsall Manor Hospital, for sending us her thoughts on helping patients to sleep on wards where there may be plenty of distractions at night.

PLEASE NOTE...Ruth is keen to point out that her suggestion may NOT help everyone. Her expertise as a senior staff nurse enables her to make that judgment. So, please seek medical advice before suggestimg the use of earplugs for someone who can't sleep.Also, ear-plugs come with instructions and it is important to fit them correctly. Some patients can become disorientated if they can't hear properly and we have heard of cases(not at Walsall) where morning staff haven't realised a patient has them in place so have not removed them during the day, which can be very distressing to any patient who may be unable to remove them themselves. Poorly fitting earplugs can also lead to ear infections

So with those thoughts in mind, here are Ruth Bodens's thoughts.

'Hospital wards are noisy places especially at night with buzzers going, phones ringing, doors opening and closing, patients snoring or talking in their sleep etc. Some patients find it difficult to sleep and several used to ask me for night sedation as they could not sleep, I thought that maybe ear plugs would be enough for some patients to get a good nights sleep. At first I used to buy cheap earplugs myself and bring them in for patients, now thay are available on our stores list.
Some patients will still need night sedation but its worth a try, we even carry the ear plugs on the drugs trolley and offer them instead of night sedation.'

Other nurses in the Midlands have also sent us information about sleep issues in hospital. Please see link to their page on this website

More information