Evaluation and improvement of rest activity cycles and quality of rest in patients with severe acquired brain injury

Rest-activity cycles (RAC) and circadian rhythm (CR) are frequently disturbed in patients with severe acquired brain injury (ABI). The purpose of this project is to examine changes in RAC and quality of rest during daytime resting periods with electrocardiogram and accelerometry, and possibly improve quality of rest by introducing elements of environmental enrichment (EE). EE may reduce vegetative imbalances, heart rate and respiratory frequency, as well as motor activity. Good quality of rest is a pre-requisite for further rehabilitative approaches.
Three studies are planned.
1. To examine if rest-activity cycles and HRV patterns of severe ABI patients’ change over time and whether this change is associated with functional improvement or patient characteristics.
2. Can a statistical model be developed based on patient characteristics and concurrent objective measures of motor activity and physiology, and is the model able to predict the clinically evaluated quality of daytime resting periods in patients with severe ABI?
3. A randomized controlled time-series study of the effect of an optimised resting environment (ORE) dedicated to the optimization of daytime resting periods compared to standard resting environment (SR) on patients with severe acquired brain injury.
Aim: The aim is to identify differences in rest quality reflected by clinical evaluation, pulse rate, motor activity and autonomic balance between the ORE and SR.

This PhD project will contribute with valuable knowledge of CR's and resting environments for this vulnerable patient group.