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Ecological study of sleep disruption in PTSD: a pilot study
Anne Germain1, Martica Hall, M Katherine Shear
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3811 O'Hara Street, Room E-1124, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. germaina@upmc.edu
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|August 8, 2006
Summary
This study found objective sleep disturbances in crime victims with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including longer sleep latency and more awakenings. In-home sleep monitoring effectively captured these disruptions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sleep Medicine
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Laboratory sleep studies show inconsistent results for objective sleep anomalies in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Previous research has not fully captured sleep disturbances in PTSD using ambulatory methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess sleep in adult crime victims with PTSD using in-home polysomnography.
- To investigate objective sleep anomalies in PTSD through ambulatory sleep monitoring.
Main Methods:
- Pilot study utilizing in-home polysomnography in adult crime victims with PTSD.
- Comparison of sleep parameters between PTSD subjects and healthy archival subjects.
- Quantitative electroencephalography (EEG) analysis of delta and beta activity.
Main Results:
- PTSD subjects exhibited longer sleep latency, reduced total sleep time, and increased nocturnal awakening duration compared to controls.
- Significant differences in quantitative EEG measures of delta and beta activity were observed between PTSD and healthy subjects.
- Ambulatory polysomnography successfully identified objective sleep disruptions.
Conclusions:
- In-home polysomnography can detect objective sleep disruptions in individuals with PTSD.
- Findings corroborate subjective reports of disrupted sleep in PTSD.
- Ambulatory sleep assessment is a viable method for studying sleep anomalies in PTSD.
