Sleep-wake patterns in brain injury patients in an acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital setting

Primary Objective: To determine staff-documented sleep/wake patterns of hospitalized brain injury patients. Research Design: Cohort study. Methods and Procedures: Data on 17 patients were recorded hourly for a two-week period by staff as to the wakefulness of patients. In addition, demographic data and FIM scores were obtained. Main Outcomes and Results: Seventeen patients experienced interrupted sleep 71% of the night. This was true of 66% of the patients with traumatic brain injury and 92% of those with anoxic brain injury. One hundred percent of the women had a sleep disturbance as compared with 64% of the men. Patients who were at least 60 years of age had interrupted sleep 90% of the time as compared to those who were less than 25 years of age (70%). FIM scores and methylphenidate were not associated with sleep/wake patterns. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this pilot study is the first to assess the sleep/wake patterns of patients by staff review on an inpatient brain injury unit and its functional implications.