Self-reported sleep duration affects tandem gait, but not steady-state gait outcomes among healthy collegiate athletes

Publication date: Available online 26 March 2018
Source:Gait & Posture
Author(s): David R. Howell, Brant Berkstresser, Francis Wang, Thomas A. Buckley, Rebekah Mannix, Alexandra Stillman, William P. Meehan
BackgroundSleep deficits are associated with motor and cognitive function deficits, even in the absence of a recent concussion.Research questionDoes the amount of self-reported sleep prior to pre-season concussion testing affect single-task and dual-task instrumented steady-state gait and timed tandem gait test performance?MethodsOne hundred and fourteen healthy collegiate athletes (mean age 18.8 ± 0.7 years; 60% female) reported the amount of sleep they received during the prior night and completed a timed tandem gait and instrumented assessment of steady-state gait in both single-task and dual-task conditions. Outcome variables included spatio-temporal gait parameters during steady-state gait, best and mean tandem gait times, and cognitive test accuracy.ResultsParticipants who reported sleeping < 7 hours of sleep during the night prior to testing (n = 62) had significantly longer tandem gait times in single-task and dual-task conditions (11.1 ± 2.2 vs. 10.1 ± 2.0 seconds and 14.5 ± 4.3 vs. 12.3 ± 2.6 seconds, respectively; p = .009) compared to those who reported sleeping ≥ 7 hours (n = 52). No significant differences between groups were observed for spatio-temporal steady-state gait variables or for cognitive test accuracy.SignificanceSelf-reported sleep duration may be associated with baseline testing tandem gait performance. Thus, as sleep can play a role in motor abilities, clinicians may consider interpreting tandem gait performance in light of sleep duration during the night prior to testing.



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