Sleeping well before undergoing surgery tied to smoother recovery

Gynaecologic oncology patients with better sleep efficiency in the days before a surgical procedure are more likely to have fewer postoperative complications and require lower doses of opioid pain medication upon hospital discharge, according to a study.

Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study that included 90 patients undergoing gynaecologic surgical procedures between March 2021 and November 2023. Preoperative sleep efficiency was measured using Oura rings over the 7 days prior to scheduled operation.

Thirty-day postoperative complications were assessed as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included total morphine milligram equivalents (MME) prescribed at discharge and pain scores on postoperative day 1.

Patients with higher vs low preoperative sleep efficiency had fewer 30-day postoperative complications. Multivariable analyses showed that each 1-percent increase in sleep efficiency was associated with 6-percent lower adjusted odds of complications within 30 days (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.94, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.89–0.996).

Furthermore, higher sleep efficiency was associated with significantly lower total MME prescribed at discharge (β, −13.94, 95 percent CI, −19.35 to −8.53).

Notably, patients in the highest sleep efficiency quartile had 72-percent lower odds of experiencing a complication compared with those in the lowest quartile (aOR, 0.28, 95 percent CI, 0.09–0.92).

Sleep efficiency had a null association with pain scores on postoperative day 1 (β, −0.06, 95 percent CI, −0.13 to 0.01).

These findings point to preoperative sleep efficiency as a modifiable risk factor to improve recovery and surgical outcomes.