Sleep disturbances in post-traumatic stress disorder

• Autor(a) principal: Moreira, Cátia Alves
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Afonso, Pedro
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.51338/rppsm.2017.v1.i2.53
• topic: post-traumatic stress disorder; sleep disorder; polysomnography; sleep.; Post traumatic stress disorder; Perturbações do sono; polissonografia; Sono.

Introduction: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by a set of symptoms that occur following exposure to a traumatic event. These include re-experiencing the trauma, avoidance of stimuli related to it, and persistent symptoms of hypervigilance. PTSD is also associated with major sleep disturbances and these disturbances have a significant impact on quality of life and prognosis. Objectives: Our aim was to review the main changes in sleep pattern observed in bipolar disorder, the physiopathological mechanisms involved in those changes and their clinical impact. Methods: A non-systematic review of the literature in English was carried out by searching PubMed with the key words “sleep disturbance”, “post traumatic stress disorder” and “polysomnography”. Results: Complaints of altered sleep patterns include nightmares, insomnia, frequent nocturnal waking, poor sleep quality, a decrease in total sleep time (TST) and an increase in stage N1 of NREM sleep, with a decrease in stage N2. As regards REM sleep, previously mentioned changes previously observed on polysomnography (an increase in its density and percentage) proved inconsistent. Discussion and conclusions: Correcting the sleep disturbances observed in PTSD should be considered a therapeutic priority, as it prevents the recurrence of symptoms of the disorder and facilitates socio-professional integration, leading to greater success in rehabilitation and improved quality of life for these patients.