title: Attention, stress and negative emotion in persistent sleep-onset and sleep-maintenance insomnia.
abstract: This study investigated the relation of negative emotions, attention and stress to sleep parameters in insomniacs. It also assessed whether sleep-onset insomniacs differ from sleep-maintenance/mixed insomniacs in the relations of these variables to sleep parameters. Fourteen sleep-onset insomniacs, 13 sleep-maintenance or mixed insomniacs and 13 normal sleepers were recruited using two sequential questionnaires. The groups differed significantly on diagnostically relevant sleep parameters, assessed over 1 week by sleep diary. After completing standard anxiety, anger and depression inventories, subjects participated in two laboratory procedures during which electrophysiological responses were recorded: orienting response habituation and emotional stress elicitation. The 28 significant correlations of sleep parameters with emotion, habituation and stress measures averaged r = 0.415. In multiple regression analyses, emotion, attention and stress variables accounted for an average of 41% of the variance in sleep parameters (mean R = 0.64). Discriminant function analysis using these variables correctly classified 66% of the subjects into the three groups. It was concluded that negative emotions, stress responsiveness and attentional factors interact to influence insomnia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 70802.
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Binks
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Varnado
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D004594:Electrophysiology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology