Sleep in the laboratory and sleep at home II: comparisons of middle-aged insomnia sufferers and normal sleepers.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The study compared adaptation responses and sleep pattern differences shown by normal sleepers and insomnia sufferers during lab (LPSG) and home (HPSG) polysomnography. DESIGN: A counter-balanced, matched-group design was used. Participants underwent 3 consecutive nocturnal LPSG's and 3 consecutive nocturnal PSG's in their homes (HPSG's). SETTING: The sleep disorders laboratories at affiliated VA and university medical centers. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-five (18 women) middle-aged (40 to 59 years) noncomplaining normal sleepers and an age-matched sample of 33 (17 women) individuals who met structured interview criteria for persistent primary insomnia were the study participants. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: A series of multivariate and univariate analyses were conducted with 9 common sleep parameters to address study objectives. Bed partner influences were controlled by conducting separate sets of analyses for those with and without routine home bed partners. The interaction of participant type (normal vs. insomnia), sleep setting, and PSG sequence (HPSG 1st vs. LPSG 1st) affected first night values of sleep efficiency and stage 2 sleep among those without routine bed partners, and REM latency and sleep efficiency among those with routine bed partners. Analyses which controlled for first night and sequencing effects showed a significant participant type x sleep setting interaction among those with bed partners. These latter analyses suggested that LPSG's may underestimate the home sleep time of insomnia sufferers and overestimate the sleep continuity of normal sleepers, at least among those who routinely sleep with a bed partner. CONCLUSIONS: The nocturnal recording site may influence adaptation effects and sleep pattern differences noted between insomnia sufferers and normal sleepers.

Slow-wave sleep and waking cognitive performance II: Findings among middle-aged adults with and without insomnia complaints.

Previous studies showing a relationship between nocturnal slow-wave sleep (SWS) and subsequent diurnal performance among young normal sleepers and older insomnia sufferers have provided limited support for the notion that this sleep stage serves a restorative role for neurocognitive functioning. The current study, which examined the relationship between SWS and reaction time performance among middle-aged adults with and without insomnia complaints, was conducted to further explore this possibility. A sample of 31 noncomplaining middle-aged (ages 40 to 59 years) normal sleepers and a like-aged sample of 27 insomnia sufferers, provided data for the current investigation. All participants underwent nocturnal sleep monitoring immediately prior to undergoing a battery of daytime tests that measured simple reaction time, vigilance/signal detection, and complex reaction time. Results showed relationships between reaction time performances on some tasks and some SWS measures among both the normal sleepers and insomnia sufferers. Findings supported our prediction that the presence of sleep pathology (e.g., insomnia) alters the SWS-performance relationship observed, but the results failed to show a consistent relationship between SWS and subsequent performance within either sample. The findings suggest that the specific performance demands of the task in question as well as physiological parameters other than SWS may determine performance as well. Findings for this and previous studies do provide some support for the contention that the neurocognitive restorative value of SWS may change across the lifespan. Possible implications of the study's findings are discussed and directions for future research are considered.

Insomnia and the eye of the beholder: are there clinical markers of objective sleep disturbances among adults with and without insomnia complaints?

Previous findings suggest that some who report insomnia sleep well, whereas some noncomplaining individuals sleep rather poorly. This study was conducted to determine if mood, anxiety, and sleep-related beliefs might relate to perceived sleep disturbance. Thirty-two women and 32 men (aged 40-79 years) with primary insomnia and an aged-matched sample of 61 normal sleepers (31 women, 30 men) completed 6 nocturnal sleep recordings, as well as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Trait portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-2), and the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes About Sleep Questionnaire. Sleep and interview data were used to subdivide the majority of the sample (n = 108) into objective normal sleepers and subjective insomnia sufferers who seemingly slept well and subjective normal sleepers and objective insomnia sufferers who slept poorly. The 2 subjective subgroups showed the most marked differences on most of the psychometric measures. The findings suggest that the psychological factors scrutinized in this study may mediate sleep satisfaction and/or predict objective sleep difficulties.

Particle films for suppression of the codling moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in apple and pear orchards.

Studies were conducted in 1997 and 1998 to evaluate the effects of three particle film formulations consisting of kaolin and adjuvants on neonate larvae, ovipositing adult females, and eggs of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.). Neonate larval walking speed, fruit discovery rate, and fruit penetration rate on apple host plants coated with particle films were significantly lower than on host plants without particle films in laboratory assays. Females oviposited less on host plants covered with a particle film residue than on untreated plants in laboratory choice and no-choice tests. Hatch rate of codling moth neonate larvae was unaffected by particle films sprayed on host plants either before or after oviposition. Fruit infestation rates were significantly reduced on particle film-treated trees compared with untreated trees for both first- and second-generation codling moth in field trials in both apple and pear orchards. Particle films appear to be a promising supplemental control approach for codling moth in orchards where moth density is high, and may represent a stand-alone method where moth densities are lower.

Effects of a kaolin-based particle film on obliquebanded leafroller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

Studies were conducted in 1997 to evaluate the effects of the kaolin-based particle film formulation M96-018 on adults, eggs, and larvae of the obliquebanded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris). Particle film treatments significantly reduced female longevity, mating success, and number of egg masses oviposited compared with moths on untreated apple leaves in sleeve-cage and screen-cage tests. No differences in mating success or oviposition were caused by the application rates and coverage density of M96-018 on foliage. Females avoided ovipositing on particle film-treated leaves in choice tests. Larval hatch was not affected by topical application or residual exposure to M96-018. Larval weight gain and pupal weight were significantly reduced and larval mortality increased in no-choice feeding tests with M96-018. In choice tests, larvae preferred to feed on untreated leaf surfaces. The negative effects on larval development and survivorship on M96-018-treated foliage did not differ across a fourfold difference in spray application rate. A significant reduction in the number of infested shoots was found in orchard trials when M96-018 was applied before bud break in late March compared with untreated trees. No reductions in larval densities were found compared with an untreated control following prebloom and postbloom applications.