Hormonal
The combination of earplugs, eye masks, and relaxing music significantly improves subjective sleep quality in ICU patients, but does not significantly alter nocturnal melatonin or cortisol levels compared to routine care.
For ICU patients, using earplugs, eye masks, and 30 minutes of relaxing music before bed can help them feel they slept better. However, do not expect this to fix stress hormone levels (cortisol/melatonin), as surgery and medications likely override these biological markers. Ensure patients are comfortable with the devices to avoid refusal.
Significant differences were found between groups in depth of sleep, falling asleep, awakenings, falling asleep again after awakening and overall sleep quality (P < 0.05)... No group differences were found in urinary melatonin levels and cortisol levels for the night before surgery, and the first and second nights post-surgery (P > 0.05).
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with a small sample size (n=45) and potential confounding factors (medication, surgery type) that may mask hormonal effects.
Source
Effects of earplugs and eye masks combined with relaxing music on sleep, melatonin and cortisol levels in ICU patients: a randomized controlled trial
Rongfang Hu et al. · Critical Care · 2015
DOI 10.1186/s13054-015-0855-3
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