2025-2026 Faculty Research Grant

Nathan Hess (Rehabilitation Sciences). 

The Impacts of Sleep Quality, Sleep Hygiene, and Sleep Apnea Risk on
Functional Outcomes in Outpatient Orthopedic Physical Therapy Patients.

More than one-third of adults in the U.S. do not get at least the recommended seven hours of sleep in a 24-hour period (Liu et al., 2016), and between 50 and 70 million people in the U.S. deal with some type of chronic sleep disturbance (Colten et al., 2006). Sleep quality, sleep hygiene, and sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea impact a host of body systems, including the ability to heal, muscular performance, and functional ability (Adams et al., 2017; Charest & Grandner, 2020; Kyle et al., 2010). Therefore, sleep may impact functional outcomes in the outpatient orthopedic rehabilitation setting. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of sleep quality, sleep hygiene, and the risk of obstructive sleep apnea on functional outcomes in outpatient orthopedic physical therapy patients. Physical therapists can utilize this information to better understand the impact of sleep on rehabilitation and address sleep with their patients to help prevent such an effect