DEFINING SLEEP DISTURBANCE AFTER BRAIN INJURY

Sleep disorders are a relatively common occurrence after brain injury. Sleep disturbances often result in a poor daytime performance and a p oor individual sense of well-being. Unfortunately, there has been mini mal attention paid to this common and often disabling sequela of brain injury. This study attempts to define and to correlate the incidence and type of sleep disturbances that occur after brain injury. Consecut ive admissions to a rehabilitation unit were used to create a longitud inal database designed to predict long-term outcomes for individuals w ho suffered a brain injury. Fifty percent of subjects had difficulty s leeping. Sixty-four percent described waking up too early, 25% describ ed sleeping more than usual, and 45% described problems falling asleep . Eighty percent of subjects reporting sleep problems also reported pr oblems with fatigue. Logistic regression analysis revealed the followi ng: the more severe the brain injury the less likely the subject would be to have a sleep disturbance; subjects who had sleep disturbances w ere more likely to have problems with fatigue; females were more likel y to have trouble with sleep. This study demonstrates the substantial prevalence of sleep disturbances after brain injury. It underscores th e relationship between sleep disorders and perception of fatigue. It a lso underscores the need for clinicians to strive for interventional s tudies to look at the treatment of sleep and fatigue problems after br ain injury.