How many hours do you sleep? A comparison of subjective and objective sleep duration measures in a sample of insomnia patients and good sleepers

Does gaming keep subjects awake?: Subjective and objective sleep parameters following gaming in comparison to a passive control

OBJECTIVES

Gaming is a global phenomenon often associated with impaired health and sleep patterns. Although the research activities are growing, the evidence to date is rare due to the various gaming titles and inconsistent study designs. Thus, this study aimed to examine the impact of excessive gaming in the evening on subjective as well as objective sleep parameters by focusing on specific game titles and assessing several evenings/nights using a mixed-methods approach.

METHODS

A total of 33 experienced young male adults (23.00 ± 3.53 years old, ranked players in League of Legends or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) took part. The individuals' sleep parameters were assessed via diary and actigraphy. In randomized order, one week apart and for a duration of 120 min each, two study evenings were spent gaming, while the other two evenings were spent without digital media and gaming, but instead watching a nature documentary.

RESULTS

No significant difference between the conditions were found (p > 0.05) in either the sleep duration nor the sleep quality. Daytime sleepiness was significantly increased after watching the documentary movie, when compared to gaming (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that, one the one hand, the gaming activity leads to higher arousal and alertness as it requires concentration and dedication. On the other hand, this impact seems only short-term and does not necessarily affect sleep patterns. Future studies are needed to gain deeper insights, especially regarding the long-term health effects of gaming.

Sleep, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation: An ecological momentary assessment and actigraphy study

Recent research shows that sleep disturbances are linked to increased suicidal ideation. In the present longitudinal cohort study, we used subjective (ecological momentary assessment, EMA) and objective (actigraphy) measures to examine the effects of sleep parameters on next-day suicidal ideation. Further, we examined hopelessness as a mediator between insufficient sleep and increased suicidal ideation. Individuals with current suicidal ideation (N = 82) completed 21 days of EMA and actigraphy to estimate suicidal ideation, hopelessness and sleep parameters. Multilevel linear-mixed models were used to examine the effects of sleep parameters on next-day suicidal ideation, as well as for the mediating effect of hopelessness (in the morning) on the association between previous night's sleep and suicidal ideation levels the next day. Significant concordance existed between subjective and objective sleep measures, with moderate-to-large correlations (r = 0.44-0.58). Lower subjective sleep quality and efficiency, shorter total sleep time and increased time awake after sleep onset were significantly associated with increased next-day suicidal ideation (controlling for previous-day suicidal ideation). Actigraphy-measured sleep fragmentation was also a significant predictor of next-day ideation. Hopelessness mediated the effects of the subjective sleep parameters on suicidal ideation, but did not account for the association with sleep fragmentation. Therefore, individuals' psychological complaints (hopelessness, suicidal ideation) were better predicted by subjective sleep complaints than by objective sleep indices. Increased hopelessness following from perceived insufficient sleep appears an important explanatory factor when considering the link between sleep disturbances and suicidal ideation.

Prevalence of sleep disturbances in people with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This review was performed to determine sleep disturbance prevalence in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched from inception to January 20, 2024. Fifty-two studies fulfilling the eligibility criteria were included. However, six of these studies were excluded from data synthesis due to poor methodological quality. The subjective sleep disturbance prevalence among all individuals with MCI was 35.8 % (95 % CI: 31.9-39.7) across 44 studies, and the objective sleep disturbance prevalence was 46.3 % (95 % CI: 36.3-56.3) across 6 studies. Five studies examined TST and WASO, while three assessed SE. Among all potential objective assessments of sleep disturbance prevalence, only TST, WASO, and SE could be meta-analyzed in MCI because of the limited number of studies available. The estimated sleep disturbance prevalence differed significantly according to measurement method, geographical region, and research design. However, the data source did not significantly influence prevalence estimates. In meta-regression analysis, publication year, participant age, percentage of females, and study quality did not predict prevalence. As subjective and objective sleep disturbances are common in people with MCI, effective intervention strategies should be developed to alleviate them.

Baseline Sleep Characteristics in NCAA Division I Collegiate Athletes

OBJECTIVE

The authors report no conflicts of interest.To determine baseline sleep characteristics of male/female student-athletes across multiple sports using objective and subjective measures.

DESIGN

Prospective study.

SETTING

Division I college.

PARTICIPANTS

Eighty-two male and female Division I student-athletes.

INTERVENTIONS

Participants completed 2 validated sleep questionnaires (Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS] and Single-Item Sleep Quality Scale [SISQS]) to assess subjective sleep. They also wore a validated sleep monitoring device (WHOOP 4.0 band) for at least 14 nights to collect objective data on total sleep time (TST) and sleep architecture.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Overnight sleep variables, including TST, time spent awake in bed after falling asleep, time spent in light sleep, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and slow-wave sleep (SWS) cycles. Sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were also assessed.

RESULTS

There were no statistical differences between male and female student-athletes in average TST, sleep architecture, sleep consistency, SISQS, and ESS scores. The average TST was 409.2 ± 36.3 minutes. Sleep architecture consisted of 25.6% REM, 19.9% SWS, and 54.4% light sleep. The average sleep consistency was 61.6% ± 8.9%. The average SISQS score was 6.48 ± 1.71, and the average ESS score was 7.57 ± 3.82. A significant difference was found in average wake time between males and females (55.0 vs 43.7 min, P = 0.020), with an overall average of 50.2 ± 16.2 minutes.

CONCLUSIONS

College student-athletes do not typically obtain the recommended amount of sleep. Optimizing sleep can positively affect academic and athletic performance.

The relationship between mental health, sleep quality and the immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccinations

Sleep modulates the immune response, and sleep loss can reduce vaccine immunogenicity; vice versa, immune responses impact sleep. We aimed to investigate the influence of mental health and sleep quality on the immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccinations and, conversely, of COVID-19 vaccinations on sleep quality. The prospective CoVacSer study monitored mental health, sleep quality and Anti-SARS-CoV-2-Spike IgG titres in a cohort of 1082 healthcare workers from 29 September 2021 to 19 December 2022. Questionnaires and blood samples were collected before, 14 days, and 3 months after the third COVID-19 vaccination, as well as in 154 participants before and 14 days after the fourth COVID-19 vaccination. Healthcare workers with psychiatric disorders had slightly lower Anti-SARS-CoV-2-Spike IgG levels before the third COVID-19 vaccination. However, this effect was mediated by higher median age and body mass index in this subgroup. Antibody titres following the third and fourth COVID-19 vaccinations ("booster vaccinations") were not significantly different between subgroups with and without psychiatric disorders. Sleep quality did not affect the humoral immunogenicity of the COVID-19 vaccinations. Moreover, the COVID-19 vaccinations did not impact self-reported sleep quality. Our data suggest that in a working population neither mental health nor sleep quality relevantly impact the immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccinations, and that COVID-19 vaccinations do not cause a sustained deterioration of sleep, suggesting that they are not a precipitating factor for insomnia. The findings from this large-scale real-life cohort study will inform clinical practice regarding the recommendation of COVID-19 booster vaccinations for individuals with mental health and sleep problems.

Relationship of sleep with diurnal cortisol rhythm considering sleep measurement and cortisol sampling schemes

Information on the relationships between the previous night's sleep and the next-day diurnal cortisol rhythm is inconsistent due to confounding factors such as sleep measurements (trait/state sleep and objective/subjective sleep) and cortisol sampling schemes. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate these relationships, considering the confounding factors. College students (n = 79) wore actigraphy for 3 days to undergo an evaluation of previous night-time sleep objectively and reported their subjective sleep parameters in a sleep diary. In addition, participants provided six salivary cortisol samples daily. Furthermore, six cortisol sampling schemes were created to reflect diurnal cortisol rhythms, and two different methods were used to calculate the index of diurnal cortisol slope (DCS). A multilevel model was created to examine the impact of both trait and state sleep on next-day diurnal cortisol rhythm. The results revealed that higher objective state sleep efficiency and longer objective state total sleep time were associated with a higher cortisol awakening response (CAR). Moreover, higher objective trait sleep efficiency and longer objective trait total sleep time were associated with higher waking cortisol levels and steeper DCS. In addition, a minimum of four saliva samples were required at different time points, including upon waking, 30 min after waking, 1 h after waking, and at bedtime, to explore the relationship of sleep efficiency/total sleep time with waking cortisol, CAR, and DCS. Furthermore, the index of the peak-to-bed slope was appropriately employed to examine the relationship between sleep efficiency and DCS, whereas the wake-to-bed slope was effective for examining the relationship between total sleep time and DCS. In summary, this study clarified the relationship between sleep and next-day diurnal cortisol rhythm and suggested a cost-effective cortisol sampling schedule and calculation methods.

Tryptophan-kynurenine metabolic pathway and daytime dysfunction in women with HIV

Sleep disturbances are prevalent in women with HIV (WWH). Tryptophan-kynurenine (T-K) pathway metabolites are associated with alterations in actigraphy derived sleep measures in WWH, although may not always correlate with functional impairment. We investigated the relationship between T-K pathway metabolites and self-reported daytime dysfunction in WWH and women without HIV (WWoH). 141 WWH on stable antiretroviral therapy and 140 demographically similar WWoH enrolled in the IDOze Study had targeted plasma T-K metabolites measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We utilized the daytime dysfunction component of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess functional impairment across HIV-serostatus. Lower levels of 5-hydroxytryptophan and serotonin were associated with greater daytime dysfunction in all women. In WWH, daytime dysfunction was associated with increased kynurenic acid (R = 0.26, p < 0.05), and kynurenic acid-tryptophan (KA-T) ratio (R = 0.28, p < 0.01). WWH with daytime dysfunction had a 0.7 log fold increase in kynurenic acid compared to WWH without daytime dysfunction. Kynurenic acid levels and the KA-T ratio were associated with daytime dysfunction in WWH but not in WWoH. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish a causal relationship and directionality between T-K metabolic changes and sleep impairment in WWH.

Comparison between self-reported and actigraphy-derived sleep measures in patients receiving home parenteral nutrition: Secondary analysis of observational data

BACKGROUND

Patients receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN) frequently report disrupted sleep. However, there are often inconsistencies between objectively measured and questionnaire-derived sleep measures. We compared sleep measures estimated from wrist actigraphy and self-report in adults receiving HPN.

METHODS

In this secondary analysis, we pooled data from two sleep-related studies enrolling adults receiving habitual HPN. We compared measures from 7-day averages of wrist actigraphy against comparable responses to a sleep questionnaire. Sleep measures included bedtime, wake time, time in bed, total sleep time, and sleep onset latency (SOL). Spearman correlation coefficients, Bland-Altman plots, and linear regression models for each set of sleep measures provided estimates of agreement.

RESULTS

Participants (N = 35) had a mean age of 52 years, body mass index of 21.6 kg/m2 , and 77% identified as female. Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.35 to 0.90, were highest for wake time (r = 0.90) and bedtime (r = 0.74), and lowest for total sleep time (r = 0.35). Actigraphy overestimated self-reported bedtime, wake time, and total sleep time and underestimated self-reported time in bed and SOL. Regression coefficients indicated the highest calibration for bedtime and wake time and lower calibration for time in bed, total sleep time, and SOL.

CONCLUSION

We observed strong-to-moderate agreement between sleep measures derived from wrist actigraphy and self-report in adults receiving HPN. Weaker correlations for total sleep time and SOL may indicate low wrist actigraphy sensitivity. Low-quality sleep resulting from sleep disruptions may have also contributed to an underreporting of perceived sleep quantity and lower concordance.

Meaningful Within-Patient Change in Subjective Total Sleep Time in Patients with Insomnia Disorder: An Analysis of the Sleep Diary Questionnaire Using Data from Open-Label and Phase III Clinical Trials

BACKGROUND

The Sleep Diary Questionnaire (SDQ), a modified version of the Consensus Sleep Diary, is a 17-item sleep diary for assessing subjective total sleep time (sTST: total time spent asleep at night) and other sleep parameters in insomnia trials. sTST is a key parameter of efficacy in insomnia trials; however, the magnitude of improvement in this parameter that people with insomnia disorder consider clinically meaningful is unclear.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to estimate meaningful within-patient change for sTST using clinical trial data.

METHODS

Data were from an open-label trial of zolpidem and pooled data from a phase III placebo-controlled trial of daridorexant. In both trials, adults with moderate to severe insomnia completed the SDQ daily. Meaningful change in sTST was estimated in an anchor-based analysis using outcome measures that were correlated with change in weekly average sTST (Spearman correlation coefficient ≥ 0.30): the Insomnia Severity Index, patient global assessments and impressions of severity and change in daytime and night-time symptoms (PGA-S, PGI-S, PGI-C), and clinician global impressions of severity and change in patients' daytime symptoms (CGI-S, CGI-C). Meaningful within-patient change estimates were 'triangulated' to identify a value where they converged.

RESULTS

In the open-label trial (N = 114), subjects with a 1-point or 1-step improvement on the anchors had mean increases in sTST of 60.1-83.2 min at day 8 and 55.5-68.2 min at day 15. For subjects with a 2-point or 2-step improvement on the anchors, mean increases in sTST were 79.6-81.4 min at day 8 and 80.1-93.5 min at day 15. In the phase III trial (N = 930), weekly average increases in sTST for subjects with a 1-point or 1-step improvement on the anchors were 39.3-46.7 min at month 1 and 47.3-58.3 min at month 3. For subjects with a 2-point or 2-step improvement on the anchors, mean increases in sTST were 60.7-76.2 min at month 1 and 70.1-87.7 min at month 3. Triangulation of these values supported a meaningful within-patient change threshold starting at 55 min.

CONCLUSION

Increasing sTST is an important treatment outcome for people with insomnia. An increase in sleep time of approximately 55 min is meaningful to patients.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION

NCT03056053 (17 February 2017) and NCT03545191 (4 June 2018).

Estimation bias and agreement limits between two common self-report methods of habitual sleep duration in epidemiological surveys

Accurate measurement of habitual sleep duration (HSD) is crucial for understanding the relationship between sleep and health. This study aimed to assess the bias and agreement limits between two commonly used short HSD self-report methods, considering sleep quality (SQ) and social jetlag (SJL) as potential predictors of bias. Data from 10,268 participants in the International COVID Sleep Study-II (ICOSS-II) were used. Method-Self and Method-MCTQ were compared. Method-Self involved a single question about average nightly sleep duration (HSDself), while Method-MCTQ estimated HSD from reported sleep times on workdays (HSDMCTQwork) and free days (HSDMCTQfree). Sleep quality was evaluated using a Likert scale and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) to explore its influence on estimation bias. HSDself was on average 42.41 ± 67.42 min lower than HSDMCTQweek, with an agreement range within ± 133 min. The bias and agreement range between methods increased with poorer SQ. HSDMCTQwork showed less bias and better agreement with HSDself compared to HSDMCTQfree. Sleep duration irregularity was - 43.35 ± 78.26 min on average. Subjective sleep quality predicted a significant proportion of variance in HSDself and estimation bias. The two methods showed very poor agreement and a significant systematic bias, both worsening with poorer SQ. Method-MCTQ considered sleep intervals without adjusting for SQ issues such as wakefulness after sleep onset but accounted for sleep irregularity and sleeping in on free days, while Method-Self reflected respondents' interpretation of their sleep, focusing on their sleep on workdays. Including an SQ-related question in surveys may help bidirectionally adjust the possible bias and enhance the accuracy of sleep-health studies.

Quantile regression to explore association of sleep duration with depression among adults in NHANES and KNHANES

BACKGROUND

Sleep duration has been associated with depression. However, mean regression, such as linear regression or logistic regression, may not capture relationships that occur mainly in the tails of outcome distribution. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between sleep duration and depression along the entire distribution of depression using quantile regression approach.

METHODS

This study included 55,954 adults aged 18 to 80 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (N = 34,156) and the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (N = 21,798). The coefficients corresponding to cross-group differences in PHQ-9 scores were estimated when comparing short or long sleep duration with normal sleep duration on deciles of PHQ-9 score distribution.

RESULTS

At lower quantiles, either short or long sleep duration was not associated with depression. At higher quantiles, the association of both short and long sleep duration with depression became much more pronounced. Compared with normal sleep duration, short and long sleep duration were associated with increases of 1.34 (95 % CI: 1.16, 1.51) and 0.28 (95 % CI: 0.04, 0.52) in PHQ-9 scores at the 50th quantile, while the corresponding increases were 3.27 (95 % CI: 2.83, 3.72) and 1.65 (95 % CI: 0.86, 2.45) at the 90th quantile, respectively. We also found that the magnitude of association between short sleep duration and depression was stronger among females and individuals with chronic diseases.

CONCLUSIONS

The beneficial effect of sufficient sleep in decreasing depression severity may be more evident among individuals with severe depression. Further studies could explore whether these heterogeneous associations can be generalized to populations with different characteristics.

Insomnia and REM sleep instability

In this narrative review, we give an overview of the concept of rapid eye movement sleep instability and its reported implications in the context of insomnia. The term rapid eye movement sleep instability was coined to describe the observation of a modified rapid eye movement quality in insomnia, characterized by an increased tendency of perceiving rapid eye movement sleep as wake, a small but consistent rapid eye movement sleep reduction and an increased rapid eye movement sleep arousal index. Current research highlights relationships that are transdiagnostic in nature, corresponding to the known interaction of insomnia with many psychiatric disorders, and showing relationships to chronic stress and anxiety disorders.

The importance and limitations of polysomnography in insomnia disorder-a critical appraisal

The importance polysomnography (PSG) in the diagnosis and treatment process of insomnia disorder (ID) remains highly disputed. This review summarises the state of the science regarding PSG indications and findings in ID, and the indications to conduct PSG in ID as stated by relevant guidelines. It then highlights the most relevant questions regarding the topic, including the relevance of ID subtyping, to allow an individualised pharmacological or psychotherapeutic treatment approach.

Effect of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Although cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is recommended as a first-line treatment, its efficacy for workers with insomnia remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the effectiveness of CBT-I in the management of insomnia symptoms in workers. We searched the literature in three electronic databases, namely PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase, and included 21 studies in the meta-analysis. Compared with the control group, CBT-I overall resulted in significant improvements in terms of severity of insomnia (g = -0.91), sleep onset latency (g = -0.62), wakefulness after sleep onset (g = -0.60), early morning awakening (g = -0.58), and sleep efficiency (g = 0.71). However, there was no improvement in the total sleep time relative to that in the control group. Furthermore, CBT-I significantly alleviated depressive (g = -0.37) and anxiety (g = -0.35) symptoms and fatigue (g = -0.47) compared with the control group. Our study findings suggest that both web-based and face-to-face CBT-I are effective interventions for managing insomnia symptoms in daytime workers, although it is important to note that only face-to-face CBT-I achieved clinically meaningful changes. The effectiveness of CBT-I for shift workers could not be determined.