A severe head injury may cause sleeping difficulties more than a year after the incidence of injury occurred, according to a new study published in Neurology.
For the study, researchers screened 140 patients who suffered first-time traumatic brain injuries. After adjusting for other neurologic or systemic disease, drug abuse, or psychiatric comorbidities, 31 participants were selected to continue with the study. Subjects reported their sleeping patterns over the course of eighteen months, then the researchers conducted a detailed sleep assessment of the participants during an overnight laboratory stay. Sleeping patterns in a control group of healthy individuals without prior brain trauma were also assessed.
Researchers found that the sleep needs for participants who had suffered a traumatic brain injury were, on average, one hour more sleep per night than the uninjured control group. The study also found that 67 percent of the injured participants reported feeling sleepy during the day. Only 19 percent of the healthy participants reported the same experience. The injured participants also inaccurately self-assessed their own sleeping patterns.
The study's authors conclude, "These results have clinical and medicolegal implications given that sleep-wake disorders can exacerbate other outcomes of traumatic brain injury, impair quality of life, and are associated with public safety hazards."
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