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Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are confronted with many changes and problems; a lack of sleep may be one of the most prevailing difficulties they endure. Poor sleep is often the result of restless leg syndrome (RLS), periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMS), sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), or depression.  Nurses who provide health care to these patients can use timely interventions to assist the patients to achieve better sleep.                                                                                     

Kathie Hopkins, BSN, RN, is a Clinical Educator on a Medical Unit at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. As a Clinical Educator, she is responsible for educating nursing staff in all aspects of medical-surgical nursing, including care of the many patients who have end-stage renal disease.