Actigraphy-based evaluation of sleep quality and physical activity in individuals with spinal cord injury

Study design Cross-sectional study. Background Sleep disturbances are frequently reported by individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and are associated both with poor quality of life and reduced ability to participate in rehabilitation and daily life activities. Objectives This study investigated sleep quality based on self-reports and actigraphy in individuals with SCI as compared to able-bodied. We also explored the relationship between sleep quality, physical activity, and neuropathic pain. Setting Institute Guttmann, Neurorehabilitation Hospital, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. Methods Fourteen SCI patients (12 males, 43.10 ± 10.59 y.o.) and 10 healthy individuals (7 males, mean age 46.21 ± 12.58 y.o.) were enrolled in the study. Participants wore wrist actigraphs for 7 consecutive days to characterize their sleep–wake cycle, rest-activity circadian rhythm and physical activity. Sleep quality, chronotype, daytime sleepiness, neuropathic pain severity and interference were assessed based on questionnaires. Results SCI individuals reported poorer sleep quality compared to healthy individuals. Actigraphy-based sleep measurements revealed that patients woke up later, spent more time in bed and slept longer compared to the healthy controls but did not differ significantly in the estimated sleep efficacy and number of awakenings from the able-bodied controls. In individuals with SCI greater physical activity predicted higher sleep efficacy and less awakening episodes as well as shorter sleep latency and lower sleep disturbance. Conclusions The actigraphy-based sleep estimates indicate that patients with SCI spent more time in bed and slept longer but their sleep efficacy was similar to able-bodied controls. Maintaining regular physical activity could improve pain control and sleep quality.