Self-reported Sleep Quality and Perceived Sleep Disruptors among Hospitalized Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital A cross sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Sleep disturbance is common among hospitalized patients and may adversely affect recovery and well-being. This study aimed to determine the proportion of patients hospitalized for at least 3 days, with unsatisfactory sleep, describe perceived sleep disruptors, and assess their association with socio-demographic, clinical and hospital-related factors.

Materials and Methods: A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients admitted to five randomly selected in-patient departments of a tertiary medical college, Kolkata, from 10 April to 20 May 2026. Eligible patients admitted for at least three days were recruited. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a pre-designed, pre-tested schedule. Perceived sleep quality and perceived sleep disruptors were assessed using 5-point Likert scales. Participants reporting fair, poor or very poor sleep were categorised as having unsatisfactory sleep. Associations were assessed using Chi-square/Fisher's exact test and Mann–Whitney U test, with p<0.05 considered significant.

Results: A total of 183 patients were included in the final analysis. The median age was 40 years (IQR: 26–46.5), 50.8% were male, and median length of stay was 7 days (IQR: 4–13.5). Unsatisfactory sleep was reported by 101 (55.2%) participants, including 36 (19.7%) with fair, 39 (21.3%) with poor and 26 (14.2%) with very poor sleep. Acute medical conditions related to the current admission were the most commonly reported significant disruptor of sleep (77, 42.1%), followed by pre-existing medical conditions (45, 24.6%), noise (40, 21.9%) and light (38, 20.8%). Unsatisfactory sleep was significantly associated with perceived disruption from noise (p<0.001), light (p=0.006), frequent vital-sign monitoring (p=0.016), personal care routines (p=0.037), existing medical conditions (p=0.033), and acute medical conditions (p=0.010). Age, sex, department of admission, diagnosis and length of stay showed no significant association with sleep quality.

Conclusion: More than half of hospitalized patients experienced unsatisfactory sleep. Clinical conditions and modifiable hospital-related factors, particularly noise, light and interruptions related to routine care, were associated with poorer sleep. Measures to minimize unnecessary nighttime disturbances may improve sleep among hospitalized patients.