Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychological Science

Department

Psychology

First Reader/Committee Chair

Jones, Jacob

Abstract

Sleep disturbances are among the most prevalent and burdensome non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), yet the contribution of prior traumatic brain injury (TBI) to these problems remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the number and severity of lifetime head injuries predicted sleep disturbances in individuals with PD. Data from 3,055 PD patients enrolled in the Fox Insight study were analyzed, including 1,593 with a history of head injury. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing head injury history, motor and cognitive symptoms, and sleep disturbances. Generalized linear mixed models tested whether head injury history and severity indicators (loss of consciousness, hospitalization, and cognitive complaints) predicted five sleep outcomes: insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), restless legs syndrome (RLS), vivid dreams, and dream enactment. Results showed that a greater number of head injuries significantly predicted higher rates of insomnia, while loss of consciousness predicted greater dream enactment. Hospitalization showed no effect, and unexpectedly, fewer cognitive complaints were associated with more frequent sleep disturbances, potentially reflecting anosognosia or symptom underreporting. These findings suggest that TBI contributes selectively to insomnia and dream enactment in PD, underscoring the need for routine screening and targeted interventions to improve quality of life and reduce fall risk in this population.

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