Jacob M. Williams

Insomnia and mental health in college students.

Insomnia is strongly associated with certain mental health problems in the general population. However, there is little research examining this relation in young adults—an age group where many mental health problems first present. This study examined relations between insomnia and mental health symptoms in a college population (N = 373; 60.9% women; mean age of 21 years). Insomnia was assessed via self-report and sleep diaries, and mental health was assessed via the Symptom Check List–90. Analyses revealed insomnia was prevalent (9.4%), and these young adults had significantly more mental health problems than those without insomnia, although some significant results were lost after controlling for comorbid health problems.

Daily Variations in Objective Nighttime Sleep and Subjective Morning Pain in Older Adults with Insomnia: Evidence of Covariation over Time

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between objectively measured nocturnal sleep and subjective report of morning pain in older adults with insomnia; to examine not only the difference between persons in the association between sleep and pain (mean level over 14 days), but also the within‐person, day‐to‐day association.

Sleep Discrepancy, Sleep Complaint, and Poor Sleep Among Older Adults

OBJECTIVES Discrepancy between self-report- and actigraphy-measured sleep, often considered an artifact of measurement error, has been well documented among insomnia patients. Sleep problems are common among older adults, and this discrepancy may represent meaningful sleep-related phenomenon, which could have clinical and research significance. METHOD Sleep discrepancy was examined in 4 groups of older adults (N = 152, mean age = 71.93 years) based on sleep complaint versus no complaint and presence versus absence of insomnia symptoms. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory-second edition (BDI-II) and 14 nights of sleep diaries and actigraphy. RESULTS Controlling for covariates, group differences were found in the duration and frequency of discrepancy in sleep onset latency (SOLd) and wake after sleep onset (WASOd). Those with insomnia symptoms and complaints reported greater duration and frequency of WASOd than the other 3 groups. Quantities of SOLd and WASOd were related to BDI-II score and group status, indicating that sleep discrepancy has meaningful clinical correlates. DISCUSSION Discrepancy occurred across all groups but was pronounced among the group with both insomnia symptoms and complaints. This discrepancy may provide a means of quantifying and conceptualizing the transition from wake to sleep among older adults, particularly those with sleeping problems.

Impact of brief cognitive behavioral treatment for insomnia on health care utilization and costs.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To examine health care utilization (HCU) and costs following brief cognitive behavioral treatment for insomnia (bCBTi). METHODS Reviewed medical records of 84 outpatients [mean age = 54.25 years (19.08); 58% women] treated in a behavioral sleep medicine clinic (2005-2010) based in an accredited sleep disorders center. Six indicators of HCU and costs were obtained: estimated total and outpatient costs, estimated primary care visits, CPT costs, number of office visits, and number of medications. All patients completed ≥ 1 session of bCBTi. Those who attended ≥ 3 sessions were considered completers (n = 37), and completers with significant sleep improvements were considered responders (n = 32). RESULTS For completers and responders, all HCU and cost variables, except number of medications, significantly decreased (ps < 0.05) or trended towards decrease at post-treatment. Completers had average decreases in CPT costs of

Tackling sleeplessness: Psychological treatment options for insomnia.

200 and estimated total costs of

Night-to-Night Sleep Variability in Older Adults With Chronic Insomnia: Mediators and Moderators in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Brief Behavioral Therapy (BBT-I)

75. Responders had average decreases in CPT costs of

Chronic Pain, Sleep, and Cognition in Older Adults With Insomnia: A Daily Multilevel Analysis

210. No significant decreases occurred for non-completers. CONCLUSIONS bCBTi can reduce HCU and costs. Response to bCBTi resulted in greater reduction of HCU and costs. While limited by small sample size and non-normal data distribution, the findings highlight the need for greater dissemination of bCBTi for several reasons: a high percentage of completers responded to treatment, as few as 3 sessions can result in significant improvements in insomnia severity, bCBTi can be delivered by novice clinicians, and health care costs can reduce following treatment. Insomnia remains an undertreated disorder, and brief behavioral treatments can help to increase access to care and reduce the burden of insomnia.

Insomnia: A Review of the Use of eszopiclone

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.

Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Insomnia

STUDY OBJECTIVES Sleep variability is a clinically significant variable in understanding and treating insomnia in older adults. The current study examined changes in sleep variability in the course of brief behavioral therapy for insomnia (BBT-I) in older adults who had chronic insomnia. Additionally, the current study examined the mediating mechanisms underlying reductions of sleep variability and the moderating effects of baseline sleep variability on treatment responsiveness. METHODS Sixty-two elderly participants were randomly assigned to either BBT-I or self-monitoring and attention control (SMAC). Sleep was assessed by sleep diaries and actigraphy from baseline to posttreatment and at 3-month follow-up. Mixed models were used to examine changes in sleep variability (within-person standard deviations of weekly sleep parameters) and the hypothesized mediation and moderation effects. RESULTS Variabilities in sleep diary-assessed sleep onset latency (SOL) and actigraphy-assessed total sleep time (TST) significantly decreased in BBT-I compared to SMAC (Pseudo R2 = .12, .27; P = .018, .008). These effects were mediated by reductions in bedtime and wake time variability and time in bed. Significant time × group × baseline sleep variability interactions on sleep outcomes indicated that participants who had higher baseline sleep variability were more responsive to BBT-I; their actigraphy-assessed TST, SOL, and sleep efficiency improved to a greater degree (Pseudo R2 = .15 to .66; P < .001 to .044). CONCLUSIONS BBT-I is effective in reducing sleep variability in older adults who have chronic insomnia. Increased consistency in bedtime and wake time and decreased time in bed mediate reductions of sleep variability. Baseline sleep variability may serve as a marker of high treatment responsiveness to BBT-I. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT02967185.

0364 NIGHT-TO-NIGHT SLEEP VARIABILITY IN OLDER ADULTS WITH CHRONIC INSOMNIA: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF BRIEF BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR INSOMNIA

STUDY OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to examine daily associations between sleep and cognition in older adults suffering from insomnia, with or without a history of chronic pain. METHODS Sixty older adults with insomnia and a history of chronic pain (HxCP; n = 33, mean age = 69.5 years, standard deviation = 7.8) or no history of chronic pain (NCP; n = 27, mean age = 69.7 years, standard deviation = 7.9) completed 14 days of diaries and actigraphy, measuring sleep onset latency (SOL), wake after sleep onset (WASO), sleep efficiency (SE), and sleep quality. Participants completed daily cognitive measures of processing speed (ie, symbol digit modalities test, SDMT), reasoning (ie, letter series), and verbal memory (ie, word list delayed recall). For HxCP and NCP, associations between sleep parameters, daily pain, depressive symptoms (ie, Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition scores), and daily cognition, controlling for age, and global cognition were examined through multilevel modeling. RESULTS For HxCP, greater self-reported WASO was associated with worse next-day SDMT performance, whereas greater actigraphic WASO was associated with better next-day SDMT performance. Greater depression was associated with worse daily letter series performance. Greater self-reported WASO and SE were associated with better next-day delayed recall. For NCP, greater self-reported WASO and depression were associated with better daily SDMT performance, whereas worse daily pain was associated with worse SDMT and delayed recall performance. CONCLUSIONS In older adults with HxCP, improving sleep may benefit lower level cognition, whereas reducing depression may affect higher level cognition. Discrepancies in sleep parameters promote assessment of objective and subjective sleep outcomes when investigating effects of insomnia on cognition. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION Title: Intraindividual Variability in Sleep and Cognitive Performance in Older Adults (REST), Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT02967185, URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02967185.