Publications by authors named "C Fichten"

Parasomnias are a group of sleep disorders characterized by abnormal and unpleasant motor, verbal, or behavioral events that occur during sleep or during transitions between wake and sleep states. They disrupt sleep and can have a detrimental impact on the individual experiencing them. Our goal was to identify types of parasomnias and their prevalence in the current and recent post-secondary student population and to explore their coping strategies for parasomnias they found distressing.

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We explored the impacts of the remote and return-to-in-person work periods on sleep and well-being as reported by faculty ( = 22) and non-teaching staff ( = 21) with and without disabilities. Participants were recruited through college platforms and personal contacts. Our results show that contrary to expectations, the COVID-19 remote teaching/working period resulted in better sleep, as well as greater well-being, than the return-to-in-person work period.

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Article Synopsis
  • A previous study found that 80% of older family medicine patients tested for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were diagnosed with the condition, prompting further research on treatment uptake and symptom characteristics.
  • In the current study, 101 women and 75 men over 45 were tested for OSA, with 93% diagnosed and 53 starting treatment, primarily through PAP therapy.
  • After 3 years, only 24 remained consistent with their treatment, showing improvements in insomnia and daytime symptoms, suggesting that while increased testing identified more cases, treatment adoption and adherence were low, indicating a need for more targeted support strategies.
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Study Objectives: In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, we address the following important questions: (1) How can patients be identified for possible OSA while sleep clinic testing is temporarily unavailable or limited? and (2) What measures can be suggested to improve sleep health until proper diagnosis and treatment become safe and available again?

Methods: As a proxy for home or in-laboratory testing, validation of a symptom-based measure of OSA risk is presented, based on an ongoing larger prospective study of 156 family medicine patients with OSA (88 women, 68 men; mean age, 57 years) and 60 control participants (36 women, 24 men; mean age, 54 years) recruited from the community. Participants completed the Sleep Symptom Checklist (SSC) and a range of other self-report measures; primary care patients also underwent a polysomnographic sleep study.

Results: Results showed that (1) individuals with OSA reported more symptoms on the SSC related to insomnia, daytime symptoms, sleep disorders, and psychological maladjustment than did the control group (all P < .

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Goals for the present study were to (a) describe the sleep of healthy new mothers over a 6-month postpartum period, (b) examine how sleep quality relates to daytime levels of fatigue and sleepiness, and (c) evaluate the relationship between mothers' and infants' sleep parameters. The sample consisted of 37 healthy, partnered, first-time mothers who had experienced full-term vaginal birth and had a healthy infant. We investigated infants' sleep parameters and mothers' sleep, mood, and daytime functioning 2 and 6 months postpartum.

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