Bed and Breakfast: The Role of Sleep in Breakfast Intake

Breakfast intake is associated with numerous positive physical and mental health outcomes, yet skipping breakfast remains common in adults. Sleep behaviors show potential as predictors of breakfast intake; the existing literature, however, has methodological limitations. The current investigation explored the association of means and intraindividual variability of a variety of sleep behaviors (bedtime, midsleep, sleep duration) as predictors of the frequency of eating breakfast and frequency of high-protein breakfast intake. Hierarchical regressions were conducted to assess direct associations between sleep behaviors and breakfast intake frequency. Variability in bedtime was a significant predictor of the frequency of breakfast intake, with greater variability associated with less frequent intake. Variability in sleep duration and midsleep was not significant predictors of the frequency of breakfast intake. Both variability and mean sleep behaviors were not significant predictors of the frequency of breakfast intake or high-protein breakfast intake. Because greater regularity in bedtimes was associated with more frequent breakfast intake, it is plausible that there should be increased education regarding the importance of regularity of sleep behaviors

Sleep Quality: A Mediator in the Pathway of Stress and Cold Symptom Severity

Stress is a known contributor to immune system suppression associated with higher illness susceptibility, including acute infectious respiratory illness or the common cold. Sleep quality is an additional mechanism that may underlie the association between stress and cold symptomatology. Although the associations between stress and sleep and cold symptomatology have been examined separately, little is known about the mechanistic role of sleep in these associations. The present study fills that void by examining archival data from the Common Cold Project (Pittsburgh Cold Study 3). The results indicate sleep quality surfaced as an indirect pathway linking stress to changes in cold severity. Additionally, better sleep was associated with greater changes in cold severity above perceived stress. These findings suggest that better sleep may be associated with less severe symptomatology. Future research should address mechanisms underlying the associations between stress, sleep, and cold symptomatology

Eszopiclone for late-life insomnia

Insomnia, the most common sleep disturbance in later life, affects 20%–50% of older adults. Eszopiclone, a short-acting nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic agent developed for the treatment of insomnia, has been available in Europe since 1992 and in the US since 2005. Although not yet evaluated for transient insomnia in older adults, eszopiclone has been shown to be safe and efficacious for short-term treatment (2 weeks) of chronic, primary insomnia in older adults (64–91 years). Clinical studies in younger adults (mean = 44 years) have shown eszopiclone can be used for 6–12 months without evidence of problems. Because the oldest participant in these longer-term trials was 69, it not known whether eszopiclone is effective for older adults [particularly the old old (75–84 years) and oldest old (85+)] when used over longer periods. This is unfortunate, because older individuals frequently suffer from chronic insomnia. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia, which effectively targets the behavioral factors that maintain chronic insomnia, represents an attractive treatment alternative or adjuvant to eszopiclone for older adults. To date, no studies have compared eszopiclone to other hypnotic medications or to nonpharmacological interventions, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia, in older adults. All of the clinical trials reported herein were funded by Sepracor. This paper provides an overview of the literature on eszopiclone with special emphasis on its use for the treatment of late-life insomnia. Specific topics covered include pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, clinical trial data, adverse events, drug interactions, tolerance/dependence, and economics/cost considerations for older adults

The Association Between Discrimination and Sleep is Exacerbated in Individuals with Comorbid Chronic Health Conditions

Introduction: The consequences of recurrent, stressful daily experiences for sleep health appear intensified in individuals with pre-existing health conditions. Although discrimination has been associated with sleep outcomes, the role of comorbid chronic health conditions (CCHCs), and impact of perceived discrimination, remains unclear. The present study investigated (1) the associations between daily discrimination and sleep and (2) moderating roles of CCHCs and daily life interference and hardship. Methods: The current study utilized archival data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study II. Participants, 174 adults (51% female, Mage=57 yrs., SD=11.5 yrs.), completed 7 days of actigraphy, sleep diary, PSQI, and CCHC-reporting measures. Models examined the moderating effects of CCHCs, daily interference, and hardship on the association between discrimination and sleep. Results: Daily discriminatory experiences predicted numerous poor sleep outcomes, exacerbated for persons with higher CCHCs. Higher comorbidity (95% CI=5.40, 68.75) exacerbated the association between discrimination and TSTactigraphy, further strengthened by perceived hardship (95% CI=-3.75, -.40) and interference (95% CI=-3.65, -.30). Number of CCHCs, qualified by perceived hardship (95% CI=.00, .04) and interference (95% CI=.01, .05), predicted diary sleep quality above discrimination. The interaction between CCHCs and hardship predicted global PSQI scores (95% CI=-.91, -.12) beyond discrimination. Conclusion: Daily experiences of discrimination are associated with decreased sleep duration and quality. These associations were stronger for individuals with multiple CCHCs. Exacerbating CCHC effects were perpetuated by perceived interference and hardships, suggesting individual emotion regulation (ER) differences. Future research should attend to sleep-related consequences of differential discrimination-informed ER by persons with CCHCs.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1042/thumbnail.jp

Practice Does Not Make Perfect: The Tireless Pursuit of Achieving Perfect Sleep

Objective: Perfectionism is consistently identified as a predisposing and perpetuating factor for a wide range of mental health conditions and disorders. Given the unique cognitive, emotional, and physiological characteristics associated with perfectionism, perfection could have serious implications for a critical health behavior—our sleep. The current study examines the links between perfectionism and sleep health with the goal of identifying potential sleep-related beliefs as underlying mechanisms. Methods: Participants were 417 undergraduate students at a large, public university in the mid-Atlantic United States. Participants completed a one-time online survey with the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised, the Dysfunctional Beliefs about Sleep Scale, Perceived Competence Scale about their sleep, and the RU SATED sleep health scale. Results: A two-step structural equation modeling strategy was used. Greater perfectionism discrepancies predicted greater dysfunctional beliefs about sleep (β = 0.45) and worse perceived sleep competence (β = −0.33). Moreover, greater dysfunctional beliefs and worse perceived sleep competence predicted worse sleep health (β = −0.23 and 0.59, respectively). Dysfunctional beliefs and perceived sleep competence significantly mediated the effect of maladaptive perfectionism on sleep health (β = −0.302). Discussion: Dysfunctional beliefs and sleep competence emerged as mechanisms through which maladaptive perfectionism may function as a barrier to healthy sleep. Although prior research positions perfectionism as a primary correlate of poor sleep, the current study identifies the role of beliefs about sleep as the pathway from perfectionism to poorer sleep health. The results highlight the importance of addressing both maladaptive beliefs about sleep as well as beliefs about one’s own sleep competency with undergraduate students with higher maladaptive perfectionism

Tackling sleeplessness: Psychological treatment options for insomnia

Natalie D Dautovich1, Joseph McNamara2, Jacob M Williams3, Natalie J Cross4, Christina S McCrae31Department of Psychology, 2Department of Psychiatry, 3Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; 4Department of Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic, Greenville, NC, USAAbstract: The purpose of the present paper is to review and summarize the research supporting nonpharmacologic treatment options for insomnia. The different treatment approaches are described followed by a review of both original research articles and meta-analyses. Meta-analytic reviews suggest that common nonpharmacologic approaches exert, on average, medium to large effect sizes on SOL, WASO, NWAK, SQR, and SE while smaller effects are seen for TST. Stimulus control therapy, relaxation training, and CBT-I are considered standard treatments for insomnia by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Sleep restriction, multicomponent therapy without cognitive therapy, paradoxical intention, and biofeedback approaches have received some levels of support by the AASM. Sleep hygiene, imagery training, and cognitive therapy did not receive recommendation levels as single (standalone) therapies by the AASM due to lack of empirical evidence. Less common approaches have been introduced (Internet-based interventions, bright light treatment, biofeedback, mindfulness, acupuncture, and intensive sleep retraining) but require further research. Brief and group treatments have been shown to be as efficacious as longer and individually-administered treatments. Considerations are presented for special populations, including older adults, children and teens, individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, insomnia comorbid with other disorders, and individuals who are taking hypnotics.Keywords: insomnia, nonpharmacologic, psychological, behavioral, treatments, slee

Beyond mean values: Quantifying intraindividual variability in pre-sleep arousal and sleep in younger and older community-dwelling adults

Intraindividual variability is an often understudied aspect of health outcomes research that may provide additional, complementary information to average values. The current paper aims to further our understanding of intraindividual variability in health research by presenting the results of a daily diary study of sleep and pre-sleep arousal. Pre-sleep arousal is often implicated in poor sleep outcomes, although the arousal–sleep association is not uniform across age groups. The examination of intraindividual variability in different age groups may provide a more complete understanding of these constructs, which, in turn, can inform future research. The overall objectives of the current study are to quantify the amount of intraindividual variability in pre-sleep arousal and sleep and to examine age differences in this variability. A sample of older (n=50) and younger (n=50) adults recruited from North Central Florida and online completed 14-consecutive-day diaries assessing pre-sleep arousal and sleep outcomes. Significant age differences were found for sleep and pre-sleep arousal; older adults displayed poorer, more variable sleep for the majority of sleep outcomes, and higher levels of pre-sleep arousal than younger adults. The high amount of intraindividual variability has implications for the assessment of pre-sleep arousal and sleep across age groups