Newly released study results show that children with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) were more likely to experience greater daytime sleepiness, sleep disturbances, and a poorer overall sleep quality. The children with TBI also had impaired emotional, physical, and social functioning when compared to healthy children.
“We were surprised that children with a TBI experienced persistent increases in daytime sleepiness and decreases in sleep quality compared to healthy children,” says principal investigator Kimberly Allen, PhD, RN, assistant professor, Center for Narcolepsy, Sleep and Health Research, Department of Women Children and Family Health Science, at the University of Illinois-Chicago, in a release.
The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and presented Monday at SLEEP 2015.
The study group comprised 15 children with TBI and 15 healthy children, matched on age, race, and maternal education level. Parents of children with TBI and parents of health children completed three surveys related to their child’s sleep behaviors and sleep quality: Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), Child Sleep Wake Scale (CSWS), and the modified Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).
