DOI : https :// doi . org / 10.56496 / ENSC6657

Lydia Barry , BSc ( Hons ), RVN , CertVNECC , FHEA

Paragon Referrals , Wakefield

ENVELOPE lydia . barry @ paragonreferrals . co . uk

Lydia graduated in 2017 from Edinburgh Napier University with a first-class BSc ( Hons ) degree in veterinary nursing . She worked in private and charity practices before moving to Paragon Referrals in Wakefield , where she is currently the ward team leader , overseeing inpatient care . Lydia ' s special interests include nursing neurological patients and inpatient care . She is particularly interested in education and nurse empowerment , and is currently studying for an MSc in Veterinary Education .

ABSTRACT Sleep is vital to the health of all animals , yet it is regularly disrupted in both human and veterinary hospitals . The author noticed that patients at the veterinary hospital at which she worked were being disturbed by the nursing care of either themselves or their fellow patients , and felt that a review of the hospital protocols was required .

This article discusses the review – in which short focus groups were held with the nursing team to discover the challenges to patient rest and sleep – and the introduction of a new protocol to enhance the quality and quantity of patients ' sleep .

Keywords inpatient , rest , sleep , cats , dogs , hospital , protocols

Introduction

Patient stress can be attributed to social and physical stressors , circadian rhythm disruption , decreased sleep quality , drugs and sedation [ 1 , 2 ] . Social stress may include stress caused by people , noise , an altered balance between light and darkness , olfactory stimulation , confinement and treatments [ 3 ] . A circadian rhythm is a series of self-sustained fluctuations of physiological processes over a 24-hour period [ 3 ] . It is controlled by the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the anterior hypothalamus [ 3 ] . Melatonin is important for the sleep – wake cycle , with increasing artificial light causing a decrease in melatonin production and poor-quality sleep [ 4 ] . Dogs have a 24-hour rest – activity cycle and sleep for 10 hours per day , on average , mainly at night [ 5 , 6 ] . By contrast , cats sleep for 12 hours per day , on average , and have a more flexible sleep cycle [ 3 ] .

22 Veterinary Nursing Journal