The effect of anticipatory stress and openness and engagement on subsequently perceived sleep quality–An Experience Sampling Method study

Abstract

Summary High stress levels can influence sleep quality negatively. If this also applies to anticipatory stress is poorly documented, however. Across insomnia severity levels, this study examined participants’ evening levels of (a) anticipatory stress and (b) their skills hypothesized to downregulate the impact of stress, namely openness to internal experiences and continuous engagement in meaningful activities (openness and engagement) and their association with the quality of the subsequent night's sleep. The moderating role of insomnia severity was also tested. We used a quasi‐experimental longitudinal design with Experience Sampling Method using smartphones over the course of 1 week (3,976 assessments; 93.2% of prompted queries). Participants recorded their sleep quality, anticipatory stress, and openness and engagement within their daily context. Participants included in the study were diagnosed with major depressive disorder (n = 118), social phobia (n = 47) or belonged to the control group (n = 119). Both anticipatory stress and openness and engagement predicted subsequent sleep quality. Diagnostic group was associated with overall sleep quality, but did not interact with the predictors. These findings were invariant across levels of self‐reported insomnia severity. Furthermore, openness and engagement and anticipatory stress did not interact in their effect on sleep quality. The results suggest that both stress reduction and increased openness and engagement are associated with improved subjective sleep quality on a day to day basis, regardless of insomnia severity. Targeting these variables may help improve sleep quality. Future research should disentangle the effects of openness and engagement on anticipatory stress.

Environmental stress and emotional reactivity: an exploratory experience sampling method study

“…Due to the highly correlated observations within each individual, multilinear regression modeling was employed to analyze ESM data variability at individual and group levels simultaneously (33). Prior research has proposed compliance rate cut-offs between 30% and 60% of prompts (28, [34][35][36]. Given the limited exploration of momentary environmental stress, our study employed a higher compliance rate of 70% to effectively capture a comprehensive picture of participants' daily experiences in this understudied area.…”

Program of algorithm for pharmacological treatment of major depressive disorder in China: Benefits or not?

“…A better prediction of prognosis may result from perceived sleep quality. Reduction of anticipatory stress is associated with improved subjective sleep quality on a day-to-day basis, regardless of the severity of insomnia [ 56 ]. Other protective factors are closely related to the effectiveness of the antidepressant agents on the above symptoms.…”

Thriving under pressure: The effects of stress-related wise interventions on affect, sleep, and exam performance for college students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“…Additionally, sleep duration does not fully capture subjective sleep quality (Buysse et al, 1989; Pilcher et al, 2000). Future studies could assess how wise stress interventions affect additional components of sleep quality (Block et al, 2020; Lydon et al, 2016), such as sleep efficiency (total sleep time divided by time in bed; McGowan et al, 2016; Rosipal et al, 2013), and also supplement these measures with more objective ones (e.g., Girschik et al, 2012; Lauderdale et al, 2008).…”

“…However, college students particularly struggle with this (Buboltz et al, 2001). During final exam weeks, college students may experience additional pressure to sacrifice sleep, as final-exam weeks tend to have several features known to impair sleep: high workload (Dahlgren et al, 2005), variable schedules (Machado et al, 1998), and anticipatory stress (Block et al, 2020). Mindset participants experienced similar or higher positive affect and similar performance as the other two conditions while sleeping the same amount as or directionally more than these students.…”