Sleep Disorders and Sleep Problems in Patients With Tourette Syndrome and Other Tic Disorders: Current Perspectives

Abstract

Sleep disorders seem to be a frequent complaint of patients diagnosed with Tourette syndrome (TS) or chronic or persistent tic disorders (CTD or PTD). In this review, we expanded a previously used search using 4 well-known databases up to February 15, 2022, looking for the coexistence of global and/or specific sleep disorders and polysomnographic studies performed on patients with TS/CTD/PTD. The references of interest in the topic were selected by hand. Sleep disorders in general, insomnia, different arousal disorders, the persistence of tics during sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, and periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) were very frequent in patients with TS, most of them being more frequent in patients with comorbid Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The most frequent results from polysomnographic studies were decreased sleep efficiency and increased sleep onset latency. Many of these findings could be related to medication used for the treatment of tics and comorbid disorders.

Tourette syndrome research highlights from 2022

“…Jiménez-Jiménez and colleagues published results of a register-based cohort study to estimate the prevalence of insomnia in Swedish patients with tics ( Jiménez-Jiménez et al . 2022 ).…”

Sleep and circadian rhythm dysfunctions in movement disorders beyond Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonisms

“…Additionally, individuals with Tourette's syndrome commonly experience symptoms such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), learning difficulties, anxiety, depression, disruptive behavior disorders, substance abuse, and sleep problems. The overall prevalence of sleep problems in Tourette's syndrome varies widely, ranging from 7.24 to 80% [51].…”

“…Insomnia is the most frequent complaint of sleep problems in Tourette's syndrome, with prevalence ranging from 0.3 to 60% [51]. It is more frequent in severe Tourette's syndrome with the presence of ADHD.…”

“…It is more frequent in severe Tourette's syndrome with the presence of ADHD. Most of the studies consistently found that sleep initiation was the most frequent insomnia problem, followed by sleep maintenance and early awakening [51]. Sleep initiation difficulties are often influenced by various factors such as anxiety or fear when falling asleep, presence of motor activities on falling asleep (such as myoclonic jerks or rhythmic movements), and the use of ADHD medications [52–56].…”

“…Sleep-related movement disorders have been reported to be significantly more frequent in Tourette's syndrome or tics disorders than controls. These include PLMS (20.8–32%), RLS (10.7–38.9%), sleep-induced bruxism (2.7–19.4%), persistence of tics during sleep (13.8–100%), as well as other movements such as rocking during sleep or unusual movement during sleep [51]. The persistence of tics during sleep has been found in every sleep staging, with greater frequency in N1, N2, and REM.…”