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Sleepless at Scripps: An Inpatient White Noise Study

Sleepless at Scripps: The Use of White Noise to Increase Sleep Duration in Hospitalized Patients, a Prospective Study

Who can join

Ages 18 and older · All sexes

Inclusion Criteria:

* Over 18 years old
* Admitted to inpatient internal medicine service for at least 3 nights

Exclusion Criteria:

\-

About the study

Sleep is an important part of the healing process, and patients admitted to the hospital often report poor sleep. Patients have difficulty not only falling sleep, but also staying asleep. Prior studies show that hospital noise may be a contributing factor, and in particular, sound level changes (which refers to an increase in sound above the background/baseline noise level) may cause arousals from sleep. Based on preliminary data, this study aims to use white noise to reduce the number of relevant sound level changes that occur during a night of sleep in the hospital. Using a randomized, cross-over design, the investigators aim to enroll 45 inpatient adults (age ≥ 65 years) to receive "active," white noise (white noised played at 57-60 decibels) on one night of their stay, and "inactive," white noise (white noise played at 45-50 decibels) on an alternate night. Three major primary outcomes will be investigated - 1) objective sleep duration as measured using actigraphy, 2)objectively measured sleep fragmentation using actigraphy, and 3) subjective sleep quality using the Richards Campbell Sleep Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes will include sound level changes in the room (measured using sound meters), as well as morning blood glucose (for diabetic/prediabetic patients) and blood pressure measurements. Delirium will be measured twice daily through the inpatient stay in a secondary analysis to compare levels of sleep fragmentation to delirium incidence.

What is being tested

• Active white noise (device)
• Inactive white noise (device)

Sponsor: Scripps Health · Participants: 50 · Started: Jul 28, 2022

Contact the study team

• Stuti Jaiswal, MD, PhD · Phone: 858-554-7909

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT05475262

Locations in the U.S.

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Oct 2, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.