Science Codex reports on a study that finds orthopedic trauma surgeons should counsel patients on the expectations of difficult sleeping following acute fractures.

In “Sleep Disturbance Following Fracture is Related to Emotional Well Being Rather than Functional Results,” patient sleep difficulty was compared to the overall functional and emotional status of each patient at baseline, and at three, six and 12 months following treatment. The rate of sleep difficulty was calculated as the percentage of patients reporting moderate, severe or complete difficulty sleeping at each interval. At 12 months follow up, poor sleep was independently associated with poor emotional status, but not poor functional status.