Neurobiology of Sleep and Sleep Treatment Response in Returning Veterans

PTSD affects both daytime functioning and sleep. Complaints of poor sleep, objective disruption of sleep, and heightened sympathovagal tone during sleep occurring early after trauma exposure increase the risk of developing PTSD up to one year later. (1-4). Insomnia is one the most common reasons for referral to mental health services in active duty personnel (5). In military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 70 percent of those with PTSD report sleep problems and fatigue, whereas more than 25% percent of those without PTSD endorse these symptoms (6). Other disruptive nocturnal behaviors and sleep disorders including sleep terrors, nocturnal anxiety attacks, simple and complex motor behaviors and vocalizations, acting out dreams, sleep apnea, and periodic leg movement disorders are also frequently reported by PTSD patients (7-12). In PTSD, sleep disturbances independently contribute to poor clinical outcomes such as increased severity of daytime PTSD symptoms (8), depression (13), suicidality (13), general psychiatric distress (14), poorer quality of life and functioning (14), poorer perceived physical health (14), and increased substance use (15;16).