QUALITY OF SLEEP IN PATIENTS WITH FIBROMYALGIA Qualidade do sono em pacientes fibromiálgicos Calidad del sueño en pacientes con fibromialgia

Objective: To assess the quality of sleep in patients with fibromyalgia, identifying their main nocturnal habits and checking the possible factors that influence the quality of sleep. Methods: Observational cross-sectional research of quantitative approach, performed in a physical therapy outpatient center in the period from March to April 2012, with participation of 24 fibromyalgia patients, regardless of gender and age. A questionnaire based on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was applied to evaluate the quality and nocturnal habits. Data was analyzed through descriptive statistics. Results: As for the sleep latency, only 1 (4.2%) needed an interval shorter or equal to 15 min to fall asleep, while 19 (79.2%) pointed some difficulty in sleeping within 30 min for more than 3 times per week. The items “felling pain” and “waking up at night” had major influence on sleep disturbance in these patients. Regarding the sleep duration, 7 (29.17%) patients sleep less than 5 hours. On the sleep efficiency, 12 (50%) have values above 85%, 10 (41.7%) have efficiency of 75-84% and only 2 (8.4%) have efficiency of 65-74%. Concerning the sleeping medication, 12 (50%) had not used it to sleep during the month and 12 (50%) used it 3 or more times during the week. Conclusion: Patients with fibromyalgia assessed in this study presented a decrease in sleep quality and efficiency, which were influenced by sleep latency and duration, occurrence of pain and nocturnal awakening.