Sleep disturbances and sleep assessment methods in PTSD

Abstract

Sleep is a universal, biologically driven, and multifaceted state of behavioral quiescence that supports mental and physiological health and well-being. Different observable dimensions of sleep, however, are direct expressions of the complex, recurrent, and reversible neurobiological processes that support the experience of sleep. Dimensions such as sleep duration, consolidation, timing, and sleep quality have been proposed as related yet distinct dimensions that contribute to the overall experience of sleep (Buysse, Sleep 37:9-17, 2014). Healthy sleep, thus, can be defined by regular, predictable, sufficient, and restorative or non-fragmented sleep episodes. All of these dimensions are disrupted in combat-exposed service members and veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).