Sleep promotion in the critical care unit.

Promoting the quiet and relaxation necessary for sleep in a busy, noisy critical care environment is a problem critical care nurses face daily. Descriptive studies have defined and increased understanding of this problem, but few interventional studies have been accomplished. Interventions that have demonstrated significant improvements in sleep quality in the critical care environment are an audiotape of the sounds of the ocean or rain, a masking signal, and a back massage.