Good night, sleep tight: the time is ripe for critical care providers to wake up and focus on sleep

The role of sleep during recovery from acute illness has been overlooked for decades. Advances in the support of critically ill patients have been made in mechanical ventilation, specialized nutrition support, highly specific antibiotic therapy, and early rehabilitation. However, the promotion of sleep – a basic tenet for survival – has been actively ignored by critical care providers. Bourne and coworkers recently conducted a small clinical trial that describes improved sleep efficiency with oral melatonin use in critically ill patients.