Sleep Disturbances Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Open accessAbstract
Sleep disturbances, namely insomnia and recurrent nightmares, are ubiquitous following trauma exposure and are considered hallmarks of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Other sleep disorders frequently co-occur with PTSD. This article describes research examining sleep problems most common in PTSD, including prevalence and clinical characteristics. Sleep disturbances are often robust to trauma-focused treatment; thus, evidence for psychological and pharmacological interventions for insomnia and nightmares in PTSD are discussed. Given the high prevalence of sleep problems in PTSD, more work is needed to empirically study putative mechanisms linking trauma exposure and sleep, as well as how to best target these symptoms in patients with PTSD. [ Psychiatr Ann . 2023;53(11):491–495.]
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When collaboratively developed, behavioral contracts promote patient accountability and shared decision-making, which are associated with improved therapeutic outcomes.
“When collaboratively developed, behavioral contracts promote patient accountability and shared decision-making, which are associated with improved therapeutic outcomes [85].”
From Pre-Sleep Anxiety: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Approaches in Clinical Practice. (2026) · cites this paper as [85]
The Clinical Treatments for Trauma-Related Sleep Disturbances section discusses cognitive-behavioral therapies and their effects on sleep and PTSD symptoms. Searches for behavioral contracts, patient accountability, shared decision-making, and collaborative treatment agreements found no passage addressing the claim. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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- Authors
- So, C. J., Miller, K. E., & Gehrman, P. R.
- Affiliations
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System (US)
- Venue
- Psychiatric Annals
- Publisher
- SLACK, Inc.
- Published
- 2023-11
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 491-495
- ISSN
- 0048-5713 (ISSN-L)
- 1938-2456
- PMC
- PMC10825808
- OpenAlex
- W4388408847
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 7.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychiatric Annals (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (IK2 CX001874)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders, insomnia, trauma exposure, trauma-focused psychotherapy, pharmacological interventions, psychological intervention, prevalence
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