Stress Reactivity in Insomnia

This study examined whether individuals with primary insomnia (PI) are more reactive to stress than good sleepers (GS). PI and GS (n = 20 per group), matched on gender and age, completed three nights of polysomnography. On the stress night, participants received a mild electric shock and were told they could receive additional shocks during the night. Saliva samples were obtained for analysis of cortisol and alpha amylase along with self-report and visual analog scales (VAS). There was very little evidence of increased stress on the stress night, compared to the baseline night. There was also no evidence of greater stress reactivity in the PI group for any sleep or for salivary measures. In the GS group, stress reactivity measured by VAS scales was positively associated with an increase in sleep latency in the experimental night on exploratory analyses. Individuals with PI did not show greater stress reactivity compared to GS.