Journal of Sleep Disorders & Therapy
Open Access

Sleep After Surgery

Patients often develop significant sleep disturbances immediately after surgery, especially major surgery. Polysomnographic manifestations usually include severe sleep deprivation, sleep fragmentation, and decrease or loss of SWS and REM sleep during the night after surgery. Fatigue is often normal after having surgery. Typically fatigue improves as the recovery period progresses. Exhaustion, rather than just feeling fatigued or tired, may be present in the first few days following major surgery, but should not persist past the initial recovery phase.