International journal of nursing studies
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One hundred patients were interviewed about their experiences of pain and sleep following abdominal surgery. This information was supplemented by data on analgesic provision which were gathered from medication charts. Pain was the most commonly reported cause of night-time sleep disturbance and analgesics helped more patients to get back to sleep than any other intervention. ⋯ Fewer doses were given at night, between midnight and 4 a.m. Analgesic provision at night, therefore, did not appear to be explicitly related to need. The assessment and control of post-operative pain at night requires further attention in order to optimize pain control and promote sleep.