Hospital Lighting Can Affect the Pain In Which Patients Are In

Numerous research has been carried out on how the quality of our sleep can be affected by artificial lighting. In the Journal of Advanced Nursing it comes as no surprise that they have used these findings to conclude that hospital lighting can have a dramatic impact on the recovery of patients.

The previous studies which were carried out showed that when people were exposed to daylight they actually felt more energetic, slept better and were in a more positive state of mind. However, recovering patients in hospital are not exposed to this daylight and this is where the problems arise. The medical lighting in hospitals may be too bright at night and too dull during the day affecting the sleep patterns of patients. A Cleveland Clinic in the US carried out a short and simple study among 40 men and women who were admitted in hospital asking what mood they were in and how much pain they felt, while monitoring their sleep-wake patterns by altering the light they were exposed to in the wards.

The results from the small study carried out showed that the admitted patients who were exposed to the low levels of light, had a mixed sleeping pattern due to missing out on the natural Light that we as humans are use to. This had a knock on effect, as they would have a lack of sleep causing increased fatigue, which resulted in the patients feeling more pain.

Although this was just a small study there will need to be more research done upon these initial findings to back up the results. Scientists are considering how this study could be further developed by possibly altering more of the artificial lighting in hospitals.