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Is Objective Short Sleep a Proxy for Frequent Insomnia?
Hannah Scott1, Janet M Y Cheung2, Alexandria Muench3
1Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health: A Flinders Centre of Research Excellence, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
Journal of Sleep Research
|June 15, 2025
Summary
Objective short sleep in insomnia patients is linked to more frequent nights of sleep duration under 6 hours. However, it is not associated with increased nights of prolonged sleep latency or wakefulness after sleep onset.
Area of Science:
- Sleep Medicine
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Objective short sleep is a phenotype of insomnia.
- The relationship between insomnia frequency and objective short sleep requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between insomnia frequency and objective short sleep.
- To determine if individuals with objective short sleep experience more nights of insomnia weekly.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) with zolpidem.
- Insomnia frequency was measured using pre-treatment sleep diaries, defining criteria as sleep latency (SL) or wake after sleep onset (WASO) > 30 minutes, or sleep duration < 6 hours.
- Objective short sleep was assessed using polysomnography (PSG) with a threshold of < 6 hours.
Main Results:
- Objective short sleep was significantly associated with more frequent insomnia nights defined by sleep duration < 6 hours (8.1 ± 4.2 nights/fortnight vs. 5.9 ± 3.7 nights/fortnight).
- No significant association was found between objective short sleep and insomnia nights defined by SL or WASO > 30 minutes.
Conclusions:
- Insomnia frequency, particularly reduced sleep duration, partially explains objective short sleep.
- Other underlying mechanisms likely contribute to the objective short sleep phenotype in insomnia.
- Further research is necessary to elucidate the mechanisms driving objective short sleep in insomnia.
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