Association between Delayed sleep phase and hypernyctohemeral syndromes: A case study

• Published in: Sleep (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 27; no. 3; pp. 417 - 421
• Main Authors: BOIVIN, Diane B, CALIYURT, Okan, JAMES, Francine O, CHALK, Colin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rochester, MN American Academy of Sleep Medicine 01.05.2004
• Subjects: Activity levels. Psychomotricity; Adult; Amnesia - complications; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Injuries - complications; Brain Injuries - diagnosis; Chronobiology Disorders - complications; Cognition Disorders - complications; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Severity of Illness Index; Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm - complications; Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm - diagnosis; Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm - physiopathology; Syndrome; Time Factors; Vigilance. Attention. Sleep; Case study; Human; Vigilance; Nervous system diseases; Sleep; Sleep disorder; Environmental factor; Illumination; Biological rhythm; Circadian rhythm; Neurological disorder
• ISSN: 0161-8105; 1550-9109
• DOI: 10.1093/sleep/27.3.417

We investigated whether the hypernyctohemeral syndrome (non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome) may show a clinical association with the delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) in a 39-year-old woman who developed sleep disturbances following a traumatic brain injury. Sleep-wake log documentation and wrist-activity recordings for more than 6 consecutive months confirmed the patient's tendency to live on longer-than-24-hour "days." Episodes of relative coordination to the 24-hour day were also noted, suggesting that the patient was transiently in and out of phase with environmental synchronizers too weak to fully entrain her to the geophysical environment. Interestingly, we noted a tendency to initiate sleep between 3:00 am and 5:00 am and wake up from sleep between noon and 1:00 pm. These results support an association between the hypernyctohemeral syndrome and the DSPS. This association may carry implications for the treatment of circadian rhythms disorders.