A new study by a team of researchers at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta has proposed that unavoidable hospital sounds often disturb patients while sleeping.

A survey of patients about their time in hospitals has unveiled that noises made in hospitals during nights were amongst the main complaints made by patients.

Monitoring around 12 healthy people who were made to sleep in a room where sounds were pumped, Orfeu Buxton, a neuroscientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and colleagues found that alarms and voices were major elements of disturbance. It was found that even when in deep sleep, people tended to wake up with alarms at a whisper level.

Even noises at low levels may be disrupting for patients, says the team, but it is usually wrongly believed that loud noises of electronic alarms, conversations and telephones are helpful in creating an environment, which eases them while healing.

"We don't necessarily just have to make (the hospital) quieter. We need to be particularly careful to avoid designing into systems and into the architecture very disruptive sounds", affirmed Dr. Jeremy Ackerman, a member of the international Healthcare Acoustics Research Team.

It is being suggested that patients’ room doors should be closed so as to bring sound reduction.