I have a very important bit of advice for you if a loved one is ever in hospital, especially over the age of 65.
Take great care to watch what’s happening with their SLEEP.
Here’s the RED FLAG scenario:
Someone in hospital with an illness. They are being treated appropriately, but for the first couple of nights their sleep is very rough. It could be a noisy room, beeping machines, or middle of the night vitals checks or lab draws.
They start to experience daytime sleepiness and as anybody would, become quite miserable and eventually it can suppress their metabolic and immune systems if it goes on too long.
Maybe they request a medication to help with sleep. Here’s where it can get bad, because far too often— ridiculously strong meds are given (like a benzodiazepine). This can then lead to drowsiness and mental status changes during the day.
Even without a medication, a few nights of poor sleep can be devastating anyway for someone above a certain age.
Recovery is prolonged. Maybe another complication like a fall happens.
You get the gist.
It all started with not sleeping well at a crucial stage when the body is recovering.
So what can you do, if this happens to you or a loved one?
1. Well being aware of this problem is the first step.
2. For a noisy room, speak to the supervisor and be assertive that your loved one cannot sleep and is getting worse. You can do this perfectly politely while remaining firm
3. Are those vitals checks and early lab draws really necessary for a stable patient? Often they are not. Let the patient sleep through the night
4. If a sleep med is given, can it initially be something very light like melatonin or magnesium glycinate? Even Benadryl is preferable to a benzodiazepine sedative
5. Keep being a good advocate for your loved one
The above should be basic common sense, but I’ve seen this go wrong enough times to write this tweet.
Sleep is crucial and must be PROTECTED for good recovery.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and good luck
