Study to look at sleep, brain injury links

A new study will look into a solution for people suffering from sleep difficulties following a traumatic brain injury.

The study will look at two online treatment programmes to help improve sleep and is calling for people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the past three years to participate in the study.

Dr Kelly Jones, senior research fellow at AUT based at the University of Waikato, said sleep is a key aspect of recovery.

"Sleep is really important for health and functioning, recovering from illness and injury. So this is an important area in terms of what treatments are available," said Dr Jones.

"We know sleep disturbance affects up to 70 per cent of people after a traumatic brain injury that is higher than the general population which is around about 25 per cent of people having sleep difficulties. So there is definitely increased risk of sleep problems after a TBI."

The study is looking to recruit people aged 18-60 who have had a mild to severe brain injury in the past three years and who are having sleep difficulties.

"It may be that people are waking up in the night, people who have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep and feeling tired during the day."

The study will be lead by Dr Alice Theadom from AUT.

Funding was secured through the Health Research Council of New Zealand.

"[They] recognised along with us that this is an important area to look into and it was important to identify and develop effective treatments to help people sleep," said Dr Jones.

The online programmes are interactive and based on cognitive behaviour therapy called Sleep4Recovery.

One programme is currently used to treat people with insomnia. The other has been specifically designed for people who have experienced a brain injury.

A TBI is estimated to be the third largest cause of global disease burden by 2020.

The sleep programmes require 20 minutes per module with one module completed each week. Both programmes contain a total of six modules. Participants are required to keep a daily sleep diary and occasional homework exercises.

To be involved with the study contact Dr Kelly Jones on 838 4257 or email kejones@aut.ac.nz.