Sleep-related arousal versus general cognitive arousal in primary insomnia.
OBJECTIVE
The present study aimed at further investigating trait aspects of sleep-related cognitive arousal and general cognitive arousal and their association with both objective and subjective sleep parameters in primary insomnia patients.


METHODS
A clinical sample of 182 primary insomnia patients and 54 healthy controls was investigated using 2 nights of polysomnography, subjective sleep variables, and a questionnaire on sleep-related and general cognitive arousal.


RESULTS
Compared to healthy controls, primary insomnia patients showed both more sleep-related and general cognitive arousal. Furthermore, sleep-related cognitive arousal was closely associated with measures of sleep-onset and sleep-maintenance problems, while general cognitive arousal was not.


CONCLUSIONS
Cognitive-behavioral treatment for insomnia might benefit from dedicating more effort to psychological interventions that are able to reduce sleep-related cognitive arousal.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg Medical Center, Hauptstraße 5, Freiburg, Germany. Kai.Spiegelhalder@uniklinik-freiburg.de
Kai
K
Spiegelhalder
Wolfram
W
Regen
Bernd
B
Feige
Verena
V
Hirscher
Thomas
T
Unbehaun
Christoph
C
Nissen
Dieter
D
Riemann
Chiara
C
Baglioni
D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires