A sleep card for hospital patients: fewer disruptions, same sleep.

People say: “Can patients protect their own sleep in hospital?” We read the study.

What they did

Randomised controlled trial (RCT). 194 people. during the hospital stay (enrolled within 72 h of admission, measured nightly until discharge); recruitment July 2019 - March 2023.

A trial. Chance decided who did what.

Who: Adult general medicine inpatients at the University of Chicago (mean age 53.4, 63% female, 89% African American); excluded: pre-existing sleep disorders, ICU/hospital transfers, isolation, bedrest, cognitive deficits, readmission within 2 weeks

What they found
  • Total sleep timesameno clear change
  • Disturbed by vitals63%vs 75% usual care
  • Disturbed by medicines49%vs 61% usual care
The catch

More to know, from our read of the paper:

  • Primary outcome (self-reported sleep duration) was NULL: 430 vs 416 min, p = .80; wrist actigraphy also null (333 vs 330 min). Say 'no clear change', never 'doesn't work'
  • The positive results are SECONDARY outcomes and patient-REPORTED: share of patients rating a disruption >= 2 on a 1-5 scale. Authors: cannot tell whether overnight care actually dropped or only patients' perception changed
  • Under-powered: target 256, only 194 enrolled (COVID disruption); stopped after a futility analysis (statistic 0.99) approved by the DSMB
  • Single academic centre; people with sleep disorders excluded; no blinding of patients/staff
  • Both groups got an eye mask, earplugs and an NHLBI sleep brochure; the I-SLEEP extras were a 5-minute video and a notecard with three questions for the care team. Only 40% asked at least one question, so the effect cannot be pinned on asking
The verdict

Same sleep, but fewer felt disturbed.

One thing to try
  1. Ask about blood drawsCan they happen while I'm awake?
  2. Ask to bundle night checksCan everything be done at once?
In short

In a randomised trial at one Chicago hospital, 194 adult patients all got an eye mask, earplugs and sleep tips; half also got a short video and a card with three questions for their care team. Their sleep time showed no clear change, by their own count or a wrist tracker. But fewer of them reported being disturbed at night by vital sign checks (63% vs 75%), medicines (49% vs 61%) and blood draws (57% vs 68%). Only 40% actually asked one of the questions.

The video
The paper

Sunderrajan A, Cursio J, Mason N, Byron M, Martinez M, Orlov N, Knutson KL, Mokhlesi B, Press VG, Meltzer DO, Arora VM (2026). A randomized trial of I-SLEEP: A patient education and empowerment intervention on inpatient sleep duration and medical sleep disruptions. Journal of Hospital Medicine.

Design: Randomised controlled trial (RCT) · single-centre randomised controlled trial (NCT04151251, registered before enrolment), 1:1, I-SLEEP vs standard care; outcome assessors blinded, patients and staff not; stopped early for futility

DOI: 10.1002/jhm.70273

Goals:

Sleep better
How we checked

We read the abstract and the full text of this paper and checked every number on this page against it (16 facts, checked on 2026-10-29). The study design is named above. Cohort and other observational studies are described as linked, not proven. Found an error? Email theis@onestudyaday.com.

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