28 Sep Concussion and Sleep
Concussion and Sleep
A 2016 pilot study from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine investigated the acute effects of concussion on sleep quality and quantity. This study utilised actigraphy to examine the changes in sleep quality and quantity acutely following concussion at home rather than in a hospital or sleep laboratory. Parameters included total sleep time (nTST), 24H sleep time (TST), wake after sleep onset (WASO), and sleep efficiency (SE). The study followed seven young adults with acute concussion, and ten control subjects. They were tested for five days following injury, and then again 30-days following. Participants utilised actigraphy devices and sleep journals.
The investigation discovered increased nTST and TST following concussion. This is consistent with subjective and objective studies that reported poorer sleep quality following concussion. The reduction in sleep quality was maintained in the 30-day testing. This result is consistent with anecdotal reports of poor sleep quality lasting months and years after concussion.
Confirming that poorer sleep quality results from concussions has a number of implications. The foremost of which is the suggested predisposition of concussed individuals to a cascade of conditions secondary to poor sleep quality.
Raikes AC, Schaefer SY. Sleep 2016; ePub