ABSTRACT
Recent research suggests that the stress-sleep relationship is mediated by pre-sleep arousal (PSA) and that cognitive arousal has a stronger mediating effect than somatic arousal; however, this has not been directly tested. Using multilevel moderated mediation, we compared the effects of cognitive arousal and somatic arousal within the stress-sleep relationship. We also assessed whether two forms of repetitive negative thought-rumination and worry-are similarly involved in the stress-sleep relationship. Data was collected from 178 participants across the United States via an online platform. Participants completed baseline self-report surveys examining rumination tendencies and worry tendencies. Over the course of 2 weeks, participants completed daily questionnaires assessing daily stress, PSA, and sleep quality. Results indicated that indirect effects from stress to sleep quality via PSA were statistically significant at low and high levels of rumination and worry, and people at high levels of rumination and worry had stronger relationships between stress and PSA. Across all models, cognitive arousal consistently accounted for more of the variance in the stress-sleep relationship as compared to somatic arousal. Implications for the cognitive behavioral treatment of insomnia are discussed.
Subject(s)
Arousal/physiology , Rumination, Cognitive/physiology , Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/psychology , Sleep/physiology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Anxiety/diagnosis , Anxiety/physiopathology , Anxiety/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Self Report , Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/diagnosis , Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/physiopathology , Stress, Psychological/diagnosis , Stress, Psychological/physiopathology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultABSTRACT
Objective. To date, no studies have directly examined the effects of cognitive trait hostility on prospectively assessed sleep quality. This is important as individuals with heightened trait hostility demonstrate similar patterns of reactivity to perceived stressors as is often reported by poor sleepers. The present study hypothesized that increased trait hostility is associated with poorer subjective sleep quality and that perceived stress mediates this relationship. Methods. A sample of 66 normal sleepers completed daily sleep and stress logs for two weeks. Trait hostility was measured retrospectively. Results. The cognitive dimension of trait hostility was significantly correlated with subjectively rated sleep quality indicators, and these relationships were significantly mediated by perceived daily stress. Individuals with higher levels of trait cognitive hostility reported increased levels of perceived stress which accounted for their poorer sleep ratings as measured by both retrospective and prospective measures. Conclusions. Overall, the findings indicate that high levels of cognitive hostility are a significant risk factor for disturbed sleep and suggest that this might be a fruitful target for clinical intervention.
