Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sleep

Sleep disturbance is common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and can be due to the underlying respiratory impairment itself or arise from comorbid obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia or restless legs syndrome. Sleep is associated with several changes in respiratory physiology, including the cessation of behavioral input to respiratory drive, reduction of hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responses and decrease in activity of accessory muscles of respiration. Nocturnal oxygen desaturation can develop in persons with moderate-severe COPD.