Benefits of Early Mobility on Sleep in the Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Patient mobility or immobility impacts sleep. Sleep is vital in the intensive care unit (ICU) for the healing process. Currently, the number of patients mobilized in the ICU is low. Nurses should prioritize interventions for their patients that promote movement. Mobility of ICU patients is proven to be safe and is recommended by current evidence-based clinical guidelines. Despite the established benefits of early mobility, there are potential barriers to its implementation in practice. Nurses need to collaborate with the interdisciplinary team to safely perform early and ongoing patient mobilization despite barriers.

Keywords: Early mobility; Intensive care unit; Mobility barriers/solutions; Rehabilitation; Sleep.