Beliefs about sleep in disorders characterized by sleep and mood disturbance

OBJECTIVES: Maladaptive sleep beliefs play an important role in primary insomnia, but their role in other disorders with concomitant sleep disruption has rarely been explored. Thus, this study investigated the link between insomnia and sleep beliefs in five groups (N=422): primary insomnia (PI), good sleepers (GS), fibromyalgia (FM), major depressive disorder (MDD), and Community Sleep Clinic patients with comorbid insomnia and mood disturbance (CSC). METHOD: Groups were compared on the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (DBAS-16) scale. RESULTS: Unlike the GS group, the MDD, FM, and CSC groups had elevated DBAS-16 scores that were similar to, or more pathological than, those of primary insomnia sufferers. Only some of the differences were removed after controlling for depression. CONCLUSION: Like primary insomnia patients, other sleep-disturbed patient groups have problematic sleep beliefs. Depression was not sufficient to account for all elevations in beliefs. The presence of maladaptive sleep beliefs in these patients suggests that belief-targeted treatment might be helpful in alleviating sleep complaints.     

Dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep are associated with regional homogeneity of left inferior occipital gyrus in primary insomnia patients: A preliminary resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

BackgroundThe neural mechanisms of sleep beliefs and attitudes in primary insomnia (PI) patients at resting state remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the features of regional homogeneity (ReHo) in PI using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI).MethodsThirty-two PI patients and 34 normal controls (NC) underwent rsfMRI using a 3 T scanner at Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province. Participants were assessed with the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep scale (DBAS-16) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Statistical analyses were performed to determine the regions in which ReHo differed between the two groups. Correlation analyses were performed between the ReHo index of each of these regions and DBAS-16 in PI patients.ResultsPI patients showed increased ReHo values in the right superior frontal gyrus, and decreased ReHo values in the left cerebellar gyrus, left inferior occipital gyrus (IOG) and left amygdala compared with those of NC. ReHo values in the left IOG were negatively correlated with total DBAS-16 scores, and scores for “consequences of insomnia” and“worry/helplessness about sleep”in PI patients.ConclusionsThese results suggest that ReHo alterations in the left IOG may play an important role in the dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep in PI.     

Relationship between maladaptive cognitions about sleep and recovery in patients with borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been associated with maladaptive cognitive processes including dysfunctional attitudes and a negative attribution style. Comorbid insomnia affects the course of multiple psychiatric disorders, and has been associated with the absence of recovery from BPD. Because dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes are common among patients with insomnia, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between maladaptive sleep-related cognitions and recovery status (symptomatic remission plus good concurrent psychosocial functioning) in patients with BPD. Two hundred and twenty three BPD patients participating in the McLean Study of Adult Development (MSAD) were administered the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep questionnaire (DBAS-16) as part of the 16-year follow-up wave. Maladaptive sleep cognitions were compared between recovered (n=105) and non-recovered (n=118) BPD participants, in analyses that adjusted for age, sex, depression, anxiety, and primary sleep disorders. Results demonstrated that non-recovered BPD patients had significantly more severe maladaptive sleep-related cognitions as measured by the overall DBAS-16 score. These results demonstrate an association between dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep and recovery status among BPD patients. Further research is warranted to evaluate treatments targeted towards maladaptive sleep-related cognitions, and their subsequent effects on the course of BPD.     

Intraindividual sleep variability and its association with insomnia identity and poor sleep

ObjectiveInsomnia identity refers to the conviction that one has insomnia, which can occur independently of poor sleep. Night-to-night variability in sleep (termed intraindividual variability [IIV]) may contribute to insomnia identity yet remain undetected via conventional mean analyses. This study compared sleep IIV across four subgroups: noncomplaining good sleepers (NG), complaining poor sleepers (CP), complaining good sleepers (CG), and noncomplaining poor sleepers (NP).MethodsThis study analyzed 14 days of sleep diary data from 723 adults. Participants were classified according to presence/absence of a sleep complaint and presence/absence of poor sleep. A 2 × 2 multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was performed to explore differences on five measures of sleep IIV: intraindividual standard deviation in total sleep time (iSD TST), sleep onset latency (iSD SOL), wake after sleep onset (iSD WASO), number of nightly awakenings (iSD NWAK), and sleep efficiency (iSD SE).ResultsMANCOVA revealed significant main effects of poor sleep, sleep complaint, and their interaction on sleep IIV. Poor sleepers exhibited greater IIV across all sleep parameters compared to good sleepers. Similarly, individuals with a sleep complaint exhibited greater IIV compared to individuals with no complaint. The interaction revealed that iSD SOL was significantly greater among CP than NP, and iSD NWAK was significantly greater among CG than NG.ConclusionsGreater night-to-night variability in specific sleep parameters was present among complaining versus noncomplaining sleepers in good and poor sleep subgroups. These findings suggest certain aspects of sleep consistency may be salient for treatment-seeking individuals based on their quantitative sleep status.     

Correlates and prognostic relevance of sleep irregularity in inter-episode bipolar disorder

ObjectivesSleep–wake disturbances, such as sleep irregularity, are common in bipolar disorder. Early studies suggest that sleep irregularity is associated with mood symptoms in bipolar disorder, but little research has been conducted to identify other correlates of sleep irregularity. We investigated the relationship between sleep irregularity and sleep quality, social rhythms, eveningness, sleep-related cognitions and behaviors, and past and future mood episodes in 84 patients with inter-episode bipolar I or II disorder.MethodsThis is a retrospective and prospective, naturalistic follow-up study. The Expanded Consensus Sleep Diary, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Social Rhythm Metric (SRM-II-5), Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM), Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes About Sleep Scale (DBAS-16), and Sleep Hygiene Practice Scale (SHPS) were administered. The Square Successive Difference (SSD), derived from a week-long sleep diary, was used as an index of sleep irregularity. Multilevel modeling analysis, which adjusts for biases in parameter estimates, was used to minimize the impact of missing data. Bonferroni correction was performed to account for multiple testing.ResultsHigher SSD scores of sleep diary variables were significantly associated with higher PSQI, SRM-II-5, DBAS-16, and SHPS scores. Irregularity in total sleep time was related to more depressive episodes in the past 5 years (p = .002), while irregularity in wake after sleep onset predicted the onset of depressive episodes over the next 2 years (p = .002).ConclusionSleep irregularity was associated with poor sleep quality, irregular social rhythms, dysfunctional sleep-related cognitions and behaviors, and greater number of depressive episodes in bipolar disorder.     

Apport de la pleine conscience dans les thérapies cognitives et comportementales de l’insomnie

Introduction

Insomnia is considered to be a serious public health issue affecting approximately 10% of adults. Chronic insomnia may increase the risk of health problem, psychological vulnerability and proneness to accidents. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is recommended as the first line of treatment. Even though CBT-I is widely considered as an effective therapy, 20 to 30% of patients do not respond to this treatment. Mindfulness therapy, known to reduce rumination and stress, could be an interesting complement to enhance CBT-I. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of therapy combining mindfulness meditation and CBT-I for the treatment of chronic insomnia.

The role of dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes in late-life insomnia

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the role of individual and combined sleep-related dysfunctional beliefs in late-life insomnia. METHODS: Older adults who responded to an advertisement in a magazine took part in a cross-sectional survey (N=382). Respondents completed self-report measures of dysfunctional beliefs about sleep (Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes to Sleep Scale) as well as measures of their current sleep patterns. RESULTS: Overall, people with insomnia (PWI) endorsed more extreme ratings of dysfunctional beliefs than "good sleepers" did. However, some sleep-related dysfunctional beliefs did not discriminate PWIs from good sleepers nor were they related to experiencing a longer duration of insomnia. CONCLUSION: This article demonstrates that not all sleep-related dysfunctional beliefs are related to reporting insomnia and that some are not related to a longer reported duration of insomnia, possibly changing through personal experience. These preliminary results may have implications for tailoring the cognitive aspects of psychoeducational programmes for people with late-life insomnia.     

Dysfunctional sleep beliefs in Parkinson’s disease: Relationships with subjective and objective sleep

Disturbed sleep is common in Parkinson’s disease and has a detrimental impact on functioning and quality of life. While the progression of the disease contributes to the aetiology of sleep problems in Parkinson’s disease, it is unknown whether an individual’s beliefs and attitudes about sleep play a role. In this study we sought to investigate whether dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep could be related to subjective and objective measures of sleep disturbance in Parkinson’s disease. Ninety-three patients with Parkinson’s disease completed the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep 16 item questionnaire, which comprises four domains: Expectations, Worry/Helplessness, Consequences and Medication. Patients also completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory-II. Patients wore actigraphy watches and completed sleep diaries for 2 consecutive weeks, recording measures of sleep disturbance including Sleep Onset and Offset, Wake After Sleep Onset, Sleep Efficiency, and Wake Bouts per hour. Greater dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes in the domains of Worry/Helplessness and Medication were associated with lower perceived sleep quality and greater depressive symptoms. However, no relationships were found between dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep and any objective actigraphic measure of sleep disturbance. These findings suggest that beliefs and attitudes about sleep in Parkinson’s disease are associated with mood disturbance, rather than objective measures of sleep. Thus it is possible that interventions targeting mood may lead to more accurate perceptions of sleep and improved quality of life in Parkinson’s disease patients.     

Sleep profile in a population of community-dwelling nonagenarians: data from the Mugello study

Background

Very few studies have investigated sleep characteristics in the oldest-old individuals (aged ≥85 years) and data collected often rely on self-reported information. This study had three aims: (i) to objectively assess, using a wearable device, the sleep characteristics of a large community of oldest-old subjects; (ii) to assess differences in sleep parameters between self-reported ‘good sleepers’ and ‘bad sleepers’; (iii) to assess whether there was a relationship between sleep parameters and cognitive status in this community-dwelling population.

Methods

There were 178 subjects (74.2% women, median age 92 years) included in the ‘Mugello study’, who wore an armband 24 h/day for at least two consecutive nights to estimate sleep parameters. The perceived sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the cognitive status through the Mini-Mental State Examination. Continuous variables were compared between men/women, and good/bad sleepers with the independent t-test or Mann–Whitney U-test, according to data distribution. Chi-square test was used for categorical/dichotomous variables. An ordinal logistic regression model was used to study the possible association between sleep parameters and cognitive function.

Results

Participants spent in bed nearly 9 h, with a total sleep time of 7 h, a sleep onset latency of 17 min, and a sleep efficiency of 83%. Sleep onset latency was significantly associated with different cognitive levels when age and education level were considered. No significant difference in sleep parameters estimated using the SenseWear armband were found between poor (n = 136, 76.4%) and good sleepers (n = 42, 23.6%), identified according to the PSQI.

Conclusions

In this study, actigraphic measurements revealed that subjects with a cognitive decline were more prone to increased sleep onset latency. Sleep quality assessed using the PSQI was not coherent with actigraphic measurements in this sample, supporting the need for objective measures when investigating sleep quality in the oldest-old population.     

Safety behaviors and sleep effort predict sleep disturbance and fatigue in an outpatient sample with anxiety and depressive disorders

Objective

Theoretical and empirical support for the role of dysfunctional beliefs, safety behaviors, and increased sleep effort in the maintenance of insomnia has begun to accumulate. It is not yet known how these factors predict sleep disturbance and fatigue occurring in the context of anxiety and mood disorders. It was hypothesized that these three insomnia-specific cognitive–behavioral factors would be uniquely associated with insomnia and fatigue among patients with emotional disorders after adjusting for current symptoms of anxiety and depression and trait levels of neuroticism and extraversion.

Methods

Outpatients with a current anxiety or mood disorder (N = 63) completed self-report measures including the Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep Scale (DBAS), Sleep-Related Safety Behaviors Questionnaire (SRBQ), Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale (GSES), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), NEO Five-Factor Inventory (FFI), and the 21-item Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). Multivariate path analysis was used to evaluate study hypotheses.

Results

SRBQ (B = .60, p < .001, 95% CI [.34, .86]) and GSES (B = .31, p < .01, 95% CI [.07, .55]) were both significantly associated with PSQI. There was a significant interaction between SRBQ and DBAS (B = .25, p < .05, 95% CI [.04, .47]) such that the relationship between safety behaviors and fatigue was strongest among individuals with greater levels of dysfunctional beliefs.

Conclusion

Findings are consistent with cognitive behavioral models of insomnia and suggest that sleep-specific factors might be important treatment targets among patients with anxiety and depressive disorders with disturbed sleep.     

Self-reported sleep quality and dysfunctional sleep-related beliefs in young and older adults: changes in times of COVID-19 lockdown

ObjectiveThis study examined changes due to COVID-19 lockdown in young and older adults’ self-reported sleep quality and dysfunctional sleep-related beliefs.MethodsAdults involved in studies prior to the pandemic were contacted during the COVID-19 lockdown. Seventeen young adults (age range: 18–35 years) and 21 older adults (age range: 65–90 years) agreed to participate. Participants were interviewed by phone (between 27th April and 4^th May, 2020) to complete the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep (DBAS) questionnaire they had been administered before the pandemic.ResultsIn terms of mean changes, the results showed null effect sizes for changes in self-reported sleep quality for both age groups. In young adults, a medium effect size emerged for changes in sleep latency, which increased during lockdown. No changes in any of the self-reported sleep quality dimensions emerged in older adults. In both age groups, the effect sizes for changes in dysfunctional sleep-related beliefs were negligible. In older adults, however, changes in self-reported sleep quality were largely associated with changes in dysfunctional sleep-related beliefs.ConclusionsOur results suggest that self-reported sleep quality and dysfunctional sleep-related beliefs were not affected by the COVID-19 lockdown in young or older adults. They also suggest that it might be useful to consider changes in dysfunctional sleep-related beliefs to better capture the impact of stressful events (such as a period of quarantine) on sleep quality, especially where older adults are concerned.     

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research

Despite the prevalence of sleep complaints among psychiatric patients, few questionnaires have been specifically designed to measure sleep quality in clinical populations. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a self-rated questionnaire which assesses sleep quality and disturbances over a 1-month time interval. Nineteen individual items generate seven "component" scores: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction. The sum of scores for these seven components yields one global score. Clinical and clinimetric properties of the PSQI were assessed over an 18-month period with "good" sleepers (healthy subjects, n = 52) and "poor" sleepers (depressed patients, n = 54; sleep-disorder patients, n = 62). Acceptable measures of internal homogeneity, consistency (test-retest reliability), and validity were obtained. A global PSQI score greater than 5 yielded a diagnostic sensitivity of 89.6% and specificity of 86.5% (kappa = 0.75, p less than 0.001) in distinguishing good and poor sleepers. The clinimetric and clinical properties of the PSQI suggest its utility both in psychiatric clinical practice and research activities.     

The relationship between sleep and drug use characteristics in participants with cocaine or methamphetamine use disorders

The goal of this project was to evaluate the relationship between self-reported sleep habits, daytime sleepiness, and drug use variables in individuals with cocaine and methamphetamine (METH) use disorders. Participants with a cocaine or meth use disorder completed questionnaires, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and a demographic/drug use form. Participants with a cocaine (N=51) or meth use disorder (N=85) were separated into those with either high or low sleep deficits. In participants with a cocaine use disorder, ANOVA revealed significantly higher ESS scores among those defined as “poor sleepers” (with a PSQI score >5) when compared to those defined as “good sleepers” (with a PSQI score ≤5). In addition, poor sleepers reported using cocaine for more days out of the past 30 when compared to good sleepers. Interestingly, good sleepers reported using more grams of cocaine/day compared to poor sleepers. In participants with a METH use disorder, ANOVA revealed significantly higher ESS scores among poor sleepers when compared to good sleepers. Finally, individuals with a METH use disorder that endorsed elevated daytime sleepiness also had significantly higher PSQI scores when compared to those with normal daytime sleepiness. The results indicate that drug use variables, such as recent and daily use, may affect sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in individuals with stimulant use disorders; however, further investigations (i.e. in cocaine and METH users that do not meet criteria for a cocaine or METH use disorder) must be conducted in order to provide more conclusive evidence of the impact these usage variables may have on these sleep characteristics.     

Effects of insomnia and sleep medication on health-related quality of life

ObjectiveThis study, using Short-Form 8 (SF-8), was undertaken to assess the effects of insomnia and sleep medication use on quality of life (QOL) in 2822 people (ages 20–97 years) in a rural population. Factors associated with deterioration of the mental component summary (MCS) score and physical component summary (PCS) score were investigated.MethodsQuestionnaires asked participants’ basic information and included assessments using SF-8, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and a 12-item version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. Results of PSQI supported the classification of subjects as good sleepers, good sleepers using sleep medication, insomniacs, and insomniacs using sleep medication.ResultsInsomnia was associated with low scores of MCS and PCS. Nevertheless, sleep medication use was associated with low PCS scores only. Good sleepers using sleep medication had significantly higher MCS scores than either insomniacs or insomniacs using sleep medication, but lower scores than good sleepers. Similarly to insomniacs using sleep medication, good sleepers using sleep medication had significantly lower PCS scores than either good sleepers or insomniacs.ConclusionsSleep medication was useful to improve mental QOL. That usage, however, might degrade the physical QOL, possibly because of the medication’s adverse effects.     

Safety behaviors and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep: testing a cognitive model of the maintenance of insomnia

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine if insomnia severity, dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, and depression predicted sleep-related safety behaviors. METHOD: Standard sleep-related measures (such as the Insomnia Severity Index; the Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep scale; the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale; and the Sleep-Related Behaviors Questionnaire) were administered. Additionally, 14 days of sleep diary (Pittsburg Sleep Diary) data and actual use of sleep-related behaviors were collected. RESULTS: Regression analysis revealed that dysfunctional beliefs about sleep predicted sleep-related safety behaviors. Insomnia severity did not predict sleep-related safety behaviors. Depression accounted for the greatest amount of unique variance in the prediction of safety behaviors, followed by dysfunctional beliefs. Exploratory analysis revealed that participants with higher levels of depression used more sleep-related behaviors and reported greater dysfunctional beliefs about their sleep. CONCLUSION: The findings underlie the significant influence that dysfunctional beliefs have on individuals' behaviors. Moreover, the results suggest that depression may need to be considered as an explicit component of cognitive-behavioral models of insomnia.     

Motor activity and perception of sleep in depressed patients.

Subjectively experienced sleep patterns often differ from observed sleeping behavior in insomniacs. Sleep patterns have been evaluated by measurements of motor activity in healthy subjects and insomniacs, but results may depend on the insomnia subtype. Sleep disturbances are frequent complaints in depression, but the influence of psychopathology on activity measurements remains elusive. Therefore, the relationship between reported sleep complaints and motor activity was studied in patients with major depression. Severity of depression was documented in depressed inpatients by observer-(HAMD) and self-rated scales (DACL, SHAPS-D). Self-reports of sleep were obtained by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and daily sleep logs (DSL). Motor activity was continuously recorded over 72 h by actigraphy. 'Good' sleepers showed less motor activity during the night compared to 'poor' sleepers (p<0.01). Patients with high HAMD scores (> or = 18) showed greater nocturnal motor activity and less sleep quality compared to patients with low HAMD scores (p<0.01). When controlling for age and severity of depression, partial correlation was found to be significant between perceived daily sleep quality and nocturnal motor activity (r = -0.63, p<0.01). There was a significant effect of nocturnal motor activity as a covariate on disturbances of subjective sleep quality and severity of depression as the main effect (p<0.01). In depressed patients, nocturnal motor activity seems to be an indicator of experienced sleep disturbances. The results warrant further controlled studies to evaluate the role of psychological factors for objective measurements and subjective perception of sleep patterns.     

Subjective sleep quality in stable neuromuscular patients under non-invasive ventilation

Objectives

Patients with neuromuscular diseases improve their sleep when treated with noninvasive ventilation (NIV), but their sleep architecture during NIV may still be disturbed by side effects of NIV or inadequacy of the ventilator setting. Little is known about subjective sleep quality during NIV. The aims of this study were to evaluate subjective sleep quality of stable neuromuscular patients under long-term NIV by using Pittsburgh questionnaire (PSQI), and to assess its possible determinants.

Methods

Fifty stable neuromuscular patients under long-term NIV were administered PSQI and underwent polysomnography. Arterial blood gases, forced vital capacity, and respiratory muscular strength were measured.

Results

Thirty-three patients had global PSQI ≥ 5 and were classified as bad sleepers. Good and poor sleepers differed in age (P = 0.005), base excess (BE) (P = 0.02), NIV inspiratory pressure (P = 0.04), %N1 (P = 0.0006), and %N3 sleep stage (P = 0.02). Percent N3 duration and Arousal/Awakening Index were correlated with rate of patient–ventilator asynchronies (r = −0.41 and 0.37, respectively, P < 0.05) and with NIV inspiratory pressure (r = −0.44 and 0.36, P < 0.01 and <0.05, respectively). At the final multivariate regression model, only BE and %N3 independently predicted global PSQI (r² = 0.326, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Subjective sleep quality is often poor in neuromuscular patients under long-term NIV. Amount of slow wave sleep and chronic hypoventilation resulting in increased BE are independent predictors of subjective sleep quality. Since inadequate NIV setting or application can influence sleep structure and alveolar ventilation, great care should be paid to the setting and the correct application of NIV to ensure a better subjective sleep quality.     

Sleep disturbances in a clinical forensic psychiatric population

Objective

Poor sleep is known to cause detrimental effects on the course of diverse psychiatric disorders and is a putative risk factor for hostility and aggression. Thus, sleep may be crucial in forensic psychiatric practice. However, little is known about the prevalence of sleep disturbances in these complex psychiatric patients.

Methods

In this study we investigated the presence of sleep disorders and subjective sleep quality using the Sleep Diagnosis List (SDL), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), interviews addressing the causes of sleep complaints, and file information on sleep medications in 110 patients admitted to a forensic psychiatric hospital.

Results

Almost 30% of the participants suffered from one or more sleep disorders, especially insomnia. An even larger proportion of the participants (49.1%) experienced poor sleep quality. Interestingly, patients with an antisocial personality disorder or traits were particularly dissatisfied with their sleep. The most common causes of sleep problems were suboptimal sleep hygiene, stress or ruminating, negative sleep conditioning, and side effects of psychotropic medication. Of the poor sleepers, 40.7% received a hypnotic drug.

Conclusion

Despite intensive clinical treatment, sleep problems are experienced by a large number of forensic psychiatric patients. It would be worthwhile to examine the effects of pharmacological and non-pharmacological sleep interventions on both psychiatric symptoms and reactive aggressive behavior in forensic patients.