The effect of sleep and nocturnal movement on stiffness, pain, and psychomotor performance in ankylosing spondylitis.
OBJECTIVE
This study was carried out in order to assess whether AS patients are adversely affected by a "good" night's sleep accompanied by little nocturnal movement.


METHODS
Objective and subjective nocturnal movement, flexibility, stiffness, pain and psychomotor performance were measured in 22 subjects, 11 with ankylosing spondylitis and 11 controls.


RESULTS
A better sleep integrity with little nocturnal movement was related to a decrease in lumbar flexibility. Difficulty in awakening and feeling tired and clumsy in the morning correlated with stiffness. Pain was correlated with a subjective difficulty in getting to sleep and a worse quality of sleep, but was also correlated with less objective sleep disruption. In the control group a better sleep integrity was correlated with an overnight decrease in psychomotor performance. In the spondylitic group a significant increase in performance occurred. Stiffness and pain did not correlate with performance.


CONCLUSIONS
Sleep in ankylosing spondylitis differs from sleep in normals.
Jamieson
A H
AH
Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, Research School of Medicine, University of Leeds, UK.
Alford
C A
CA
Bird
H A
HA
Hindmarch
I
I
Wright
V
V
D000328:Adult; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D010146:Pain; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012890:Sleep; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*