Dataset Information

Post traumatic stress symptom variation associated with sleep characteristics.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sleep problems are highly related. The relationship between nighttime sleep characteristics and next day post traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) is not well known. This study examined the relationship between the previous night's sleep duration, number of awakenings, sleep quality, trouble falling asleep, and difficulty staying asleep and PTSS the following day.

Methods

Using an ecological momentary assessment methodology, individuals with probable PTSD (N?=?61) reported their nighttime sleep characteristics daily and PTSS four times per day for 15?days. Univariate and multivariate linear mixed models were used to examine the previous night's (within-subjects) and person's mean (between-subjects) associations between sleep characteristics and PTSS.

Results

The previous night's sleep duration (p?ConclusionsAmong individuals with PTSD, the previous night's sleep duration, trouble falling asleep, and difficulty staying asleep predict next day PTSD symptoms. Interventions that facilitate falling and staying asleep and increase time slept may be important for treating PTSD.

SUBMITTER: Biggs QM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7164146 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Post traumatic stress symptom variation associated with sleep characteristics.

Biggs Quinn M QM Ursano Robert J RJ Wang Jing J Wynn Gary H GH Carr Russell B RB Fullerton Carol S CS

BMC psychiatry 20200416 1

<h4>Background</h4>Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sleep problems are highly related. The relationship between nighttime sleep characteristics and next day post traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) is not well known. This study examined the relationship between the previous night's sleep duration, number of awakenings, sleep quality, trouble falling asleep, and difficulty staying asleep and PTSS the following day.<h4>Methods</h4>Using an ecological momentary assessment methodology, individ ...[more]

PMID: 32299397

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Project description:BackgroundSleep disturbances are common in individuals with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, little is known about how daily variation in sleep characteristics is related to PTSD. This study examined the night-to-night and weekday versus weekend variation in sleep duration, sleep quality, trouble falling asleep, and difficulty staying asleep in individuals with and without PTSD.MethodsParticipants (N = 157; 80 with PTSD, 77 without PTSD) completed daily self-reports of their nighttime sleep characteristics for 15 consecutive days. Linear mixed models were used to examine the associations between the 7 days of the week and weekday versus weekend variation in sleep characteristics and PTSD.ResultsIndividuals with PTSD reported shorter sleep duration, lower sleep quality, more trouble falling asleep, and more difficulty staying asleep than individuals without PTSD. The pattern of change across the week and between weekdays and weekends was different between those with and without PTSD for sleep quality and trouble falling asleep. Among those with PTSD, sleep duration, sleep quality, and trouble falling asleep differed across the 7 days of the week and showed differences between weekdays and weekends. For those without PTSD, only sleep duration differed across the 7 days of the week and showed differences between weekdays and weekends. Neither group showed 7 days of the week nor weekday versus weekend differences in difficulty staying asleep.ConclusionsOn average those with PTSD had shorter sleep duration, poorer sleep quality, and greater trouble falling and staying asleep. In particular, the day of week variation in sleep quality and trouble falling asleep specifically distinguishes those with PTSD from those without PTSD. Our findings suggest that clinical care might be improved by assessments of sleep patterns and disturbances across at least a week, including weekdays and weekends. Future studies should explore the mechanisms related to the patterns of sleep disturbance among those with PTSD.

Project description:Disrupted sleep is a major feature in numerous clinical disorders and is related to decrements in affective memory processing. The prevalence of sleep disruption in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is suggested to be a key feature that exacerbates the impaired ability to recall extinction memories during experimental fear conditioning. We hypothesized that an intervention employing blue-wavelength light therapy (BLT) to regulate sleep and stabilize circadian rhythms in patients with PTSD (i.e., via regulated morning exposure) would be associated with PTSD symptom improvement, decreased sleep-related complaints, as well as improved consolidation and retention of extinction memories relative to a fear conditioning/extinction paradigm. Eighty-two individuals with PTSD underwent a well-validated fear conditioning/extinction protocol with subsequent assignment to receive morning BLUE (BLT) or placebo AMBER (ALT) light therapy daily for 30-min over 6-weeks. Participants returned after the intervention for post-treatment extinction recall, comprised of exposure to the previously conditioned stimuli, with the difference in skin conductance response between the "extinguished" and the "never-extinguished" stimuli at follow-up. Participants also viewed previously conditioned stimuli in a novel context during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. BLUE light therapy was associated with improvements relative to correlated decreases between PTSD symptoms and sleep-related complaints. Participants receiving BLT also sustained retention of the extinction memory, while those in the placebo amber light treatment group showed impairment, characterized by the restoration of the extinguished fear response after 6-weeks. Participants in the ALT also demonstrated greater reactivity in the left insula when viewing the previously extinguished fear-conditioned stimuli in a novel context. Daily BLUE-wavelength morning light exposure was associated with greater retention of extinction learning in patients with PTSD when compared to ALT, as supported by both autonomic and neurobiological reactivity. We speculate that improved sleep facilitated by a stabilized circadian rhythm, after fear-learning, led to greater consolidation of the fear extinction memory, decreased PTSD symptom presentation, and associated decreases in sleep-related complaints. Prominent exposure treatments for PTSD incorporate principles of fear extinction, and our findings suggest that blue light treatment may facilitate treatment gains by promoting the consolidation of extinction memories via improved sleep.

Dataset Information

Post traumatic stress symptom variation associated with sleep characteristics.

Background

Methods

Results

Publications

Post traumatic stress symptom variation associated with sleep characteristics.

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