Evidence of actigraphic and subjective sleep disruption following mild traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) are frequently associated with long-term, self-reported sleep disruption. Objective corroboration of these self-reports is sparse and limited by small sample sizes. The purpose of this study was to report on actigraphically-measured sleep outcomes in individuals with and without a history of recent mTBI in two U.S. cities (Boston, MA and Tucson, AZ).

PATIENTS/METHODS: Fifty-eight individuals with a recent (within 18 months) mTBI and 35 individuals with no prior mTBI history were recruited for one of four studies across two sites. Participants completed a minimum of one week of actigraphy. Additionally, mTBI participants self-reported daytime sleepiness, sleep disruption, and functional sleep-related outcomes.

RESULTS

In Boston, mTBI participants obtained less average sleep with shorter sleep onset latencies (SOL) than healthy individuals. In Tucson, mTBI participants had greater SOL and less night-to-night SOL variability compared to healthy individuals. Across mTBI participants, SOL was shorter and night-to-night SOL variability was greater in Boston than Tucson. Sleep efficiency (SE) variability was greater in Tucson than Boston across both groups. Only SOL variability was significantly associated with daytime sleepiness (r = 0.274) in the mTBI group after controlling for location.

CONCLUSION

Sleep quality, SOL and SE variability, are likely affected by mTBIs. Between-group differences in each site existed but went in opposite directions. These findings suggest the possibility of multiple, rather than a singular, profiles of sleep disruption following mTBI. Precision medicine models are warranted to determine whether multiple sleep disruption profiles do indeed exist following mTBI and the predisposing conditions that contribute to an individual's experience of sleep disruption.