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Understanding Sleep Dysfunction after Traumatic Brain Injury

  • Brain Injury Medicine and Rehabilitation (G Galang, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This paper aims to review the prevalence, pathophysiology, outcomes, evaluation, and management of sleep dysfunction after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Recent Findings

Recent research has focused on the prevalence and effects of sleep disturbance in various age groups after TBI, the correlation of subjective complaints to objective sleep measurement, the use of actigraphy to monitor sleep in those with TBI, updates to our understanding of pathophysiology of sleep dysfunction across the spectrum of severity of TBI, and newly identified associations with sleep and outcomes.

Summary

Providers should continue to recognize and treat sleep dysfunction after TBI given its influence on recovery and function. We should be aware that subjective and objective measurements of sleep may not correlate and that actigraph-inferred sleep data should be interpreted with caution. Ongoing research will continue to inform our understanding of the evaluation and management of sleep dysfunction after TBI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital, Schenectady, NY, USA

    Mark Linsenmeyer

  2. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Mark Linsenmeyer & Michael Guthrie

  3. Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation, Dallas, TX, USA

    Mary Miller Phillips

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  1. Mark Linsenmeyer
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  2. Michael Guthrie
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  3. Mary Miller Phillips
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Correspondence to Mark Linsenmeyer.

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Linsenmeyer, M., Guthrie, M. & Phillips, M.M. Understanding Sleep Dysfunction after Traumatic Brain Injury. Curr Phys Med Rehabil Rep 8, 405–414 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40141-020-00299-9

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