[Night sleep patterns in post-operative intensive care patients (author's transl)]

5 patients admitted to intensive care following post-operative complications had EEG recordings on 2 consecutive nights some time after their operations. Study of the different sleep stages showed a marked increase in deep slow wave sleep and waking but asignificant reduction in light slow wave sleep and paradoxical sleep. The appearance of the sleep cycles through the night was unusual with respect to the maximum occurrence of the various stages and their evolution. Finally certain characteristics of paradoxical sleep, the rhythm and duration of the phases and the number and frequency of ocular movements were also modified. Comparison of these findings with those previously reported show that these abnormalities, rather than suggesting sleep deprivation resemble more closely the fidings in shift workers when they resume night sleep after a period of day sleep. The also resemble the changes seen in people whose circadian rhythm has been displaced by 12 hours.