Sleep patterns and stress in patients having coronary bypass.

This study examined the self-reported sleep patterns of adult patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and the relationship between their perceived illness-related stress and sleep disturbances. Twenty-four patients completed data at all three collection points: preadmission, and the third and sixth postoperative mornings. Patients responded to the Verran/Snyder-Halpern Sleep Scale and the Carr and Powers Stressor Scale for patients having CABG. By use of a within-subject, one-factor, repeated measures analysis of variance, statistically significant differences were found in each of the three sleep dimensions measured over time (disturbance, effectiveness, and supplementation). With the Pearson correlation, the hypothesis that sleep disturbances in patients having open-heart surgery are related to psychologic stress associated with illness was not supported. Additional analyses indicated that hospital and illness-related stress, duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, anesthesia time, and sleep medication were related to patients' sleep disturbance, effectiveness, or supplementation in different ways and at different times during the study periods.