323
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Examining the trajectory and predictors of post-concussion sleep quality in children and adolescents

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, &
Pages 166-174 | Received 24 Mar 2021, Accepted 13 Feb 2022, Published online: 25 Feb 2022
 

ABSTRACT

Objectives

This study aimed to 1) determine if post-concussion sleep quality of children and adolescents differed from healthy sleep estimates; 2) describe the trajectory of parameters of sleep quality; 3) determine factors that predict sleep quality outcomes; and 4) compare sleep parameter outcomes between asymptomatic and symptomatic participants at 4 weeks post-concussion.

Methods

Nightly actigraphy estimates of sleep in 79 children and adolescents were measured throughout 4 weeks post-concussion. Total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE), wake after sleep onset (WASO), number of arousals (NOA), and average arousal length (AAL) were measured.

Results

Child and adolescent participants experienced significantly poorer SE and longer WASO duration throughout 4 weeks of recovery and adolescents experienced significantly longer TST. SE significantly improved with time post-injury (p = .047). Older age was associated with longer TST (p = .003) and female sex was associated with longer WASO (p = .025) and AAL duration (p = .044). Week 4 sleep parameter outcomes were not significantly different between asymptomatic and symptomatic participants.

Conclusions

The sleep quality of youth is adversely affected by concussion, particularly in females. Sleep quality appears to improve with time but may require more than 4 weeks to return to normal.

List of abbreviations

  • Post-concussion sleep disturbances (PCSD);

  • Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI);

  • Total sleep time (TST); Sleep efficiency (SE);

  • Wake after sleep onset (WASO);

  • Number of Awakenings (NOA);

  • Average arousal length (AAL);

  • Post Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS);

  • 95% confidence interval (95% CI).

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the families and children and youth with concussion who participated in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 727.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.