Sleep disturbances in torture survivors.

One of the main complaints in torture survivors is sleep disturbance with nightmares, too little sleep and daytime fatigue. Seven subjects, who had been exposed to torture from 6 months to seven years previously, were examined by polysomnography. All had abnormal sleep patterns compared with normal age- and sex-matched controls. The subjects woke frequently from REM sleep, had reduced REM sleep duration, absent Stage 4 sleep, short total sleep time and low sleep efficiency. This study revealed that previously healthy young persons subjected to extreme stress may develop an abnormal sleep pattern.