American Sleep Association (ASA) has developed a preliminary version of facility standards that promote an adequate sleep opportunity for those sleeping away from home.

These standards are intended to facilitate good sleep while at hotels, resorts, other hospitality organizations and medical facilities.

Keeping with the principles of good ‘sleep hygiene’, the standards help to promote a good sleep opportunity. These standards include bed and bedroom comfort, temperature regulation, light reduction, and sound reduction.

Over 10% of Americans spend more than one week away from home per year. Poor sleep is a common complaint while traveling away from home. Short-term inadequate sleep is a contributor to reported lower-quality experiences. Long-term inadequate sleep can have a significant impact on health and quality of life.  Promoting good sleep hygiene is central in the prevention and treatment of many sleep disorders.

The primary mission of the American Sleep Association is to improve public health by increasing awareness about the importance of sleep and the dangers of sleep disorders. ASA was founded by sleep professionals in 2002 and reaches millions of visitors per year.

American Sleep Association Facility Standards

1.Bedroom Sound Proofing

All bedrooms utilize common materials for sound proofing including

• Curtains and/or blinds
• Floor coverings or insulated ceiling/flooring
• Insulated construction materials and windows.
• Ambient outside noise should be less than 40 decibels at the middle of the bed.

2. Mattress.

• Mattresses in rooms should be constructed of coil spring, memory foam, or equivalent.
• Mattresses should not have visible sagging of more than 1 inch at any point on the surface of the mattress..
• Mattresses should not have sharp palpable springs that can be felt in the top layer of foam.
• Mattresses should not make ‘squeaking’ noises when shifting from side to side on top of the mattress.
• Mattresses should not have unpleasant odors.
• Mattresses should not have any evidence of bug infestation
• If a mattress pad is used, it should provide some elevation and insulation to the body above the mattress

3 Bedding and Linens

• Bedding and linens should properly fit the entire mattress.
• Linens should be of excellent quality and without stains or unpleasant odors.
• Bed and pillow sheets should be made of soft fabric.
• There should be a fitted sheet, or equivalent, and a top sheet.
• Bed should have a comforter and/or thick blanket.

4.Pillows

• There should be at least 2 pillows per full, queen, or king bed.
• Each guest should have access to at least one additional pillow.
• Pillows should be in excellent condition and should not be lumpy, out of shape, or have an unpleasant odor.
• Pillows should provide some elevation to the head from the mattress below.

5. Temperature Control

• Each bedroom should have its own room temperature control.
• Noise from heating/cooling unit should be less than 55 decibels.

6. Light Control

• Light from outside the bedroom should be reducible by blinds and/or curtains to near blackout during the nighttime.
• Light from inside the bedroom should be reducible by the guest.

7. Bedroom Odor

• Bedroom should be without unpleasant odor, including the smell of smoke in designated non-smoking rooms.

Additional:

If facility is a medical institution that provides positive airway pressure to patients (e.g., CPAP to patients with sleep apnea), the following additional standards may be appropriate:

CPAP or BIPAP BiLevel positive airway pressure machine should not emit more than 35 db in noise.

Humidification should be an option.

Machine pressure range should be at least between 4 cm - 20 cm.

The mask interface should be without sharp edges on the face, and should be clean according to state and federal requirements.

The mask should have an adjustable strap that attaches the mask to the face.

CPAP and BiPAP machines and masks should be appropriately cleaned with proper CPAP cleaning protocol and/or use of CPAP cleaner machine.

References:

http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/43316/E92845.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2186171

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10939085

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2717723/

https://jphysiolanthropol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1880-6805-31-14

Version 1.3, 1.15.2016