Clinical trials

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the feasibility of using a standardized sleep bundle in adults undergoing cardiac surgery. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Can eligible participants be recruited and retained in the study? 2. Can participants follow the study procedures, including using sleep aids and completing daily assessments? 3. Can sleep and other clinical data be reliably collected during the hospital stay? Researchers will compare participants who receive the sleep bundle to participants who receive usual postoperative care. Participants will: * Use non-drug sleep aids, including a sleep mask, ear plugs, and a noise machine (sleep bundle group only). * Take sleep medications if needed, following a stepwise protocol (sleep bundle group only). * Complete daily sleep assessments using the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ). * Wear a Fitbit device at night to track sleep. * Follow usual postoperative care routines (control group) The study will also collect and describe data on sleep duration, nighttime awakenings, subjective sleep quality, incidence of postoperative delirium, and hospital length of stay to inform the design of a future larger trial.

Virtual Reality (VR) is gaining traction as a new and innovative leisure to augment healthcare services. Several benefits of the leisure experience, such as distraction and full sensory immersion, have demonstrated a potential to significantly impact the field of healthcare through pain reduction, anxiety reduction, and is seen as an innovative approach to motor learning. Persons with ALS (pwALS) have a high prevalence of anxiety over the course of their illness, which has a negative impact on their quality of life, and the quality of life of those closest to them. The use of VR for anxiety management and subsequent quality of life improvement has yet to be explored in the ALS population. For individuals with ALS, VR can be both (1) an escape from the reality of living day to day with a progressive fatal diagnosis; and (2) the opportunity to potentially improve anxiety, both of which are linked to the quality of life of individuals living with ALS. Our hypothesis is that a simple and accessible home VR-guided relaxation exercise program can improve subjective anxiety symptoms in a person living with ALS and subsequently improve quality of life.