Sleep Neurobiology and Critical Care Illness

The intensive care unit (ICU) environment is not propitious for restoring sleep and many studies have reported that critically ill patients have severe sleep disruptions. However, sleep alterations in critically ill patients are specific and differ significantly from those in ambulatory patients. Polysomnographic patterns of normal sleep are frequently lacking in critically ill patients and the neurobiology of sleep is important to consider regarding alternative methods to quantify sleep in the ICU. This article discusses elements of sleep neurobiology affecting the specificity of sleep patterns and sleep alterations in patients admitted to the ICU.