Rest.

Rest has been examined only sporadically in the nursing literature, primarily as a physiological need closely related to sleep. The article describes the concept of rest from a variety of perspectives and lays the foundation for further analysis. Themes of physical, mental, and spiritual components of rest emerge as the concept is explored. Further analysis of the concept of rest in both health and illness is recommended. Exploration of the individual patient's perception of rest and restful activities seems to be a key to promoting and prescribing rest as a nursing intervention.

Music for sleep disturbance in the elderly.

Twenty-five elderly, community-based subjects with self-perceived sleep disturbances participated in this descriptive pilot study. Subjects listened to classical and New Age music before bedtime when a sleep disturbance was identified. Daily logs were kept by each participant to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Twenty-four (96%) of the subjects reported improved sleep using this self-administered intervention.

Holistic nursing interventions.

Health care consumers and providers are looking for economical, noninvasive, non-pharmacologic alternatives to traditional medical care. Holistic therapeutic nursing interventions expand the nurse's repertoire of therapies to promote health and augment or replace standard pharmacologic interventions. Standards of Clinical Nursing Practice require nurses to maintain current knowledge, use research findings, and contribute to cost-effective use of resources. Use of selected holistic interventions such as music, humor, and reminiscence enables nurses in any setting to maintain professional standards and offer additional alternative interventions to their specific patient population.

Standards of practice by Nightingale.

Although the American Holistic Nurses' Association (AHNA) has a relatively short history, the ideas and concepts it embodies are similar to those of Florence Nightingale. This article describes those similarities in Nightingales's writings and in the AHNA's philosophy and standards of practice.

Effects of music preference and selection on stress reduction.

The use of music for therapeutic value has been documented throughout history. Modern research has identified specific types of music that seem to produce physiological benefits more consistently than others. The purpose of this research was to identify the effects of three types of music on perceived stress levels and to see if a correlation existed between music preference, music played, and stress reduction. Music preference was identified, stress level assessed, music played, and stress level was reassessed with 58 subjects. Paired t tests were statistically significant with two of the three musical styles.