Recent Advances in Sleep Health in Neurological Disorders and Injuries

Dear Colleagues,

Neurological disorders (NDs), including epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, cerebrovascular diseases, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neuroinfections, brain tumors, and traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, among others, have significant implications for brain health. Having an ND also puts people in a vulnerable state leading to worsening sleep health, not only because of structural changes to the brain circuits responsible for sleep–wake regulation, respiration in sleep, and secondary autonomic dysfunction resulting in a myriad of sleep disorders, but also because of the psychosocial distress and environmental factors that are activated (e.g., weakened level of social support and access to needed health services). Sleep health, a multidimensional sleep and wakefulness pattern adapted to the individual’s personal, social, and environmental demands, is directly linked to brain health, cognitive and physical function, and wellness, performance, and adaptation. Sleep health in people with NDs has not been extensively studied. Likewise, gender-specific disparities in sleep health in people with NDs remain poorly understood. Unaddressed sleep health concerns can accentuate and trigger a cascade of adverse health and non-health effects, impeding activities and participation, expediting brain health deterioration, and amplifying caregiver burden and distress.

This Special Issue will focus on the sleep health of people with NDs, emphasizing sleep health, as it concerns brain health, through a gender equity lens. The overarching aim is to inform future research and policy and advance the care of men, women, and gender-diverse people with NDs.

Over the course of the past decade, there has been a remarkable rise in acknowledgment of the importance of sleep health and the need to assess for sleep concerns in people with NDs. Capturing sleep-related risk and protective factors and proposing solutions can initiate a goal-directed actionable plan for sleep health research, policy, and practice recommendations in ND.

This Special Issue aims to publish original studies, preliminary reports, and review papers on sleep health in ND. Emphasis will be placed on investigations in which the development and mechanism of sleep health are studied by means of statistical methods and investigations that explore the complexity of experiences in sleep health pre and post diagnosis.

Dr. Tatyana Mollayeva
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• neurological disorders
• brain injury
• neurodegenerative disorders
• sleep health