Sleep patterns in women after coronary artery bypass surgery

Sleep patterns were examined over a 6-month time period after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) using a wrist-worn actigraph and the Sleep-Rest subscale of the Sickness Impact Profile. The sample included 22 women during the first postoperative week (T1), and 13 of these women during the first posthospitalization week (T2) and the sixth (T3) and twenty-fourth postoperative weeks (T4). Nighttime sleep became less fragmented and, over time, total sleep became more consolidated during nighttime hours, as shown by significant decreases in day, evening, and total sleep and increases in the percentage of total sleep occurring at night during T1. There were also increases in nighttime sleep and percentages of total sleep and the mean sleep interval and decreases in day sleep and evening sleep and nighttime awakenings during T1 through T4. Decreases in the Sleep-Rest subscale indicated perceived improvement in sleep consistent with changes in objective sleep measures over 6 months. These data can be used to help women anticipate changes in sleep patterns over the course of recovery. They suggest the importance of interventions to improve sleep during hospitalization and posthospitalization recovery.