Relationship between Sport-Related Concussion and Sleep Based on Self-Report and Commercial Actigraph Measurement

Sleep-wake disturbance (SWD) results from sport-related concussion (SRC) and may increase risk of protracted post-injury symptoms. However, methodological limitations in the extant literature limit our understanding of the role of SWD in SRC. This study examined the association between acute/subacute SRC and two sleep behaviors-sleep duration and efficiency-as measured by self-report and commercially available actigraphy (CA) in a sample of football players enrolled in a larger prospective longitudinal study of concussion. Fifty-seven high school and Division 3 male football players with SRC (mean [M] age = 18.00 years, standard deviation [SD] = 1.44) and 26 male teammate controls (M age = 18.54 years, SD = 2.21) were enrolled in this prospective pilot study. Sleep duration and sleep efficiency were recorded nightly for 2 weeks (starting 24-48 h post-injury in the SRC group) via CA and survey delivered via mobile application. There was no significant relationship between SRC and objectively recorded sleep measures, a null finding. However, the SRC group reported a brief (3-day) reduction in sleep efficiency after injury (M SRC = 82.18, SD = 12.24; M control = 89.2, SD = 4.25; p = 0.013; Cohen's d = 0.77), with no change in sleep duration. Self-reported and actigraph-assessed hours of sleep were weakly and insignificantly correlated in the SRC group (r = -0.21, p = 0.145), whereas they were robustly correlated in the non-injured control group (r = 0.65, p = 0.004). SWD post-SRC was not observed in objectively measured sleep duration or sleep efficiency and was modest and time-limited based on self-reported sleep efficiency. The weak correlation between self-reported and objective sleep behavior measures implies that subjective experience of SWD post-SRC may be due to factors other than actual changes in these observable sleep behaviors. Clinically, SWD in the early-subacute stages of recovery from SRC may not be adequately measurable via current CA. Subjective SWD may require alternative methods of evaluation (e.g., clinical actigraph or sleep study).

Automated summary

This study found that football players with sports-related concussion (SRC) experienced a brief reduction in sleep efficiency but no change in sleep duration in the three days following the injury. Objective measures did not show a significant relationship between SRC and sleep behaviors, while self-reported and actigraph-assessed hours of sleep were weakly correlated in the SRC group. The weak correlation between subjective and objective sleep behavior measures suggests that the experience of sleep-wake disturbance post-SRC may be influenced by factors other than actual changes in sleep behaviors.