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How do we get the medical world to take sleep seriously? It's foundational to better health and better management of health conditions, but....
- patient sleep in hospitals is broken repeatedly
- sleep impact is not valued/devalued with new medications prescribed
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#sleep
- patient sleep in hospitals is broken repeatedly
- sleep impact is not valued/devalued with new medications prescribed
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#sleep
- simplistic "solutions" are offered for those with chronic sleep disruption (ex: sleep hygiene solves all)
- appointments and procedures disrupt sleep routines needed to be functional
- the system matters more than the patient's needs
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#sleep
- appointments and procedures disrupt sleep routines needed to be functional
- the system matters more than the patient's needs
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#sleep
- "how are you sleeping?" is not a common question, even though it impacts everything
- doctors often attribute sleep issues to mental health issues, ignoring the fact that mental health is worse with poor sleep
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#sleep
- doctors often attribute sleep issues to mental health issues, ignoring the fact that mental health is worse with poor sleep
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#sleep
- doctors themselves are indoctrinated into the idea of pushing through while ignoring cost with the poor sleep practices that are rampant in med school and residency, or helpless to change the system. They then perpetuate this system.
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#sleep
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#sleep
So. How do we as patients, who pay the price for this in our own health, budge this damaging dynamic?
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#sleep
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#sleep
Ack - life intruding. Be back later to finish this thread.
When I step back and look at the issue of sleep more broadly, it's not an issue of not having good info available about the damaging effects of lack of sleep. It's been studied w/ science, but we also know from direct, personal experience.
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#sleep
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#sleep
And in theory the medical world knows as well. Ever been on the receiving end of a lecture about getting more sleep, as if good sleep is just that easy for the #chronicallyill? And if you can't, you must be a sleep hygiene failure.
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#sleep
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#sleep
There seems to be a dual reality of
1) sleep should just work or it's your fault, not your body's, and good luck solving that
&
2) if your need for sleep breaks the treatment plan or the appointment schedule, sleep is pushed aside
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#sleep
1) sleep should just work or it's your fault, not your body's, and good luck solving that
&
2) if your need for sleep breaks the treatment plan or the appointment schedule, sleep is pushed aside
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#sleep
When #sleep is taken more seriously, it's
- sleep hygiene guidelines
- go for a sleep study to look for the most common problems
- take meds
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- sleep hygiene guidelines
- go for a sleep study to look for the most common problems
- take meds
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These are starting points for the patient, but what are the starting points for the system changing?
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#sleep
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#sleep
(clearly my disrupted sleep is showing in this thread as I've now gotten my tweet count format flipped and I'm struggling to hold the continuity thread together mentally)
I think culture plays a part.
We value overwork, burnout, achievement, work ethic. But where is our healthy rest ethic? We don't see a problem in someone working three jobs to survive even if it means bad sleep and ill health. We justify the harm.
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#sleep
We value overwork, burnout, achievement, work ethic. But where is our healthy rest ethic? We don't see a problem in someone working three jobs to survive even if it means bad sleep and ill health. We justify the harm.
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#sleep
We carry many versions of this over into the medical world, and the sleep harm to patients is justified to keep the system going. It matters more that patients.
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#sleep
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#sleep
(I know there are doctors and nurses who do care about the sleep of their patients, who are also at the mercy of the systems they work in.)
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Someone with a deeper understanding of the system than I may be able to offer solution paths, but I think it's helpful to articulate the problem, it's origins, and its costs, if we're going to get a handle on changing things.
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#sleep
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#sleep
With words and frameworks we can communicate more effectively what is invisible to those who don't deal with these issues or realize how deep and widespread they are.
Maybe local systems that are more patient responsive will listen and innovate?
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#sleep
Maybe local systems that are more patient responsive will listen and innovate?
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#sleep
Ok, this is as far as my thinking has made it on this line of thought for now. But I know there are many of you out there grappling with this stuff, too, and I welcome your insights and light on what I've missed.
Time for some rest.
16/16
#sleep
Time for some rest.
16/16
#sleep
