Reduced Melatonin Associated With Sleep Disturbance in Traumatic Brain Injury

A new study using polysomnography confirms sleep disturbances in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), including increased wake after sleep onset (WASO) and reduced sleep efficiency, an average of 14 months after their injury compared with healthy control subjects. Other findings, including reduced evening melatonin production in these patients, as well as increased levels of depression and anxiety, may be contributing to these problems. Slow-wave sleep was also higher in patients with TBI vs healthy controls after controlling for depression.
The researchers, with senior corresponding author Shantha M. W. Rajaratnam, PhD, from the School of Psychology and Psychiatry at Monash University in Australia, propose that depression may be affecting the sleep quality, but the increased slow-wave sleep they observed may be due to the mechanical effects of the brain damage.
"These results suggest that the brain injury may disrupt the brain structures that regulate sleep, including the production of melatonin," Dr. Rajaratnam said in a statement from the American Academy of Neurology. "Future studies should examine whether taking supplemental melatonin can improve sleep in people with brain injuries."