Sleep patterns as a predictor for length of stay in a psychiatric intensive care unit

• Mean duration of sleep was 7.5 h with huge variations between individuals.
• Great intra-individual variations in sleep duration the first nights.
• Sleep the first night correlated negatively with the length of stay in schizophrenia.
• Differences in sleep from night one to night two correlated with length of stay.
• Stabilizing night-to-night variations of sleep might be a major goal in treatment.

Systematic evaluations of the relationship between sleep patterns and length of stay in psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs) are lacking. The aims of the present study were to explore if sleep duration or night-to-night variations in sleep duration the first nights predict length of stay in a PICU. Consecutive patients admitted to a PICU were included (N=135) and the nurses registered the time patients were observed sleeping. In the three first nights, the mean sleep duration was 7.5 (±3.2) h. Sleep duration the first night correlated negatively with the length of stay for patients with schizophrenia. The mean difference in sleep duration from night one to night two were 3.3 (±3.0) h and correlated with length of stay for the whole group of patients, but especially for patients with schizophrenia. Patients of all diagnostic groups admitted to a PICU had pronounced intra-individual night-to-night variations in sleep duration. Stabilizing night-to-night variations of sleep duration might be a major goal in treatment.