Sleep movements and poor sleep in patients with non-specific somatic complaints--II. Affective disorders and sleep...

Nocturnal motor activity of 67 poor sleepers referred to the Rehabilitation Research Centre (RRC) and of 16 healthy subjects were recorded to distinguish poor sleepers without affective disorders from those with affective disorders. All subjects slept on the static charge sensitive bed (SCSB) in a single room of the patient dormitory. All subjects filled out a sleep questionnaire about their subjective sleep quality. After comprehensive rehabilitation consultations the poor sleepers were divided into two subgroups: those with and those without affective disorders. Complaints about insomnia and sleep disorders distinguished poor sleepers from healthy controls but the subgroups of poor sleepers did not differ in the estimation of the quality of sleep. However, when the distribution of body movements through the night was considered, the dynamic of nocturnal motor activity typified poor sleepers with affective symptoms.