UWM Digital Commons

The Relationship Between Sleep Disturbances and Perceived Injury Severity

Union Wisconsin Room

There is growing evidence supporting the relationship between sleep disturbances and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological phenomenon that potentially affects those whom experience a severe traumatic event in his/her life. As a result, the traumatic event can trigger a "fight-or-flight" response that ultimately determines how the given situation is psychologically recovered. Depending on the individual, one recovers from these experiences in a variety of ways, both positively and negatively. Those who continue to experience negative psychological and/or physical instabilities may ultimately be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. It is hypothesized that individuals with sleep disturbances may therefor perceive a traumatic event as more severe on self-reported questionnaires. Thus, individuals with sleep disturbances may not only be at a higher risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, but receiving successful psychological treatment in regards to his/her experience of a traumatic event. This may be indicative of the success of future treatments to impede the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Sleep disturbances were determined using the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index among 52 individuals, and perceived trauma severity was determined from self-reported questionnaires. Given prior research, along with any correlation found in this study, further research may seek to explore if treatment of sleep disturbances in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (or suspected development of post-traumatic stress disorder) may lead to a greater degree of successful psychological trauma treatment. Treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, upon data calculation, may hold ramifications for treatment design. Data collected for this hypothesis is in the process of being analyzed and concluded.