Alzheimer’s Disease and Sleep Disorders: A Descriptive Study of Actigraphic and Clinical Presentation Based on Neuropsychiatric Inventory

Sleep disorders are very common in Alzheimer’s disease. This study describes the clinical and actigraphic aspects of the sleep pattern of 41 Alzheimer’s disease patients identified with sleep disorders by means of the neuropsychiatric inventory. The clinical protocol used to assess sleep quality included eight categories of sleep complaints. In addition, each caregiver rated his/her own distress level according to a five-point scale. The most common primary sleep disorders found among elderly participants were: to wake caregivers during the night (n = 39; 95.1%) and to get up during the night (n = 33; 80.4%). Actigraphic measures confirmed the clinical observation with the nighttime total sleep time = 311.2 ± 91.6 minutes, awakenings = 25.9 ± 8.7 per night and nighttime wake after sleep onset = 198.5 ± 78.4 minutes. Subjects compensated the lack of sleep at night by sleeping and napping during the day: daytime total sleep time = 152.6 ± 97.3 minutes and naps = 32.2 ± 15.8 per day. Most caregivers (70.7%) rated their distress level as moderate/extreme. The authors advocate that further studies and trials focused on the profile of patients, the methods described and types of sleep disorders should be carried out.