The relationship between PTSD, hypervigilance and disordered sleep

Disordered sleep in PTSD constitutes a major component of the presenting symptomatology. However, the literature on PTSD and sleep is characterized by discrepancies across studies, especially due to the fact that some use objective and some use subjective measures of sleep quality. As a result, disordered sleep and its underlying mechanism have been ambiguously characterized in PTSD. Our research focused on the link between PTSD and disordered sleep, using both objective and subjective measures of sleep quality. Specifically, we investigated hypervigilance (one of the three symptom clusters in the PTSD diagnosis) as an underlying mechanism of this link. We also investigated whether hypervigilance affects dream content and themes in individuals with PTSD.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Van Wyk, Mariza

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Solms, Mark

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13992

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13992