0806 THE ROLE OF SLEEP PARAMETERS AND INSOMNIA STATUS IN PREDICTING PERCEIVED STRESS

Abstract

Although stress is associated with sleep disturbances, few studies have examined whether sleep/wake parameters predict perceived stress. Poor sleep can negatively impact daily perceptions. The current study seeks to determine if insomnia status, sleep/wake parameters, and sleep/wake variability predict perceived stress in college students. Data was collected for a parent study assessing college students with and without insomnia. Participants (N = 247; 59.5% female; M age = 20.2 years, SD = 2.4) completed one week of daily sleep diaries, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and a clinical diagnostic interview. We conducted a multiple regression using sleep diary parameters (means and standard deviations of circadian midpoint, terminal wakefulness [TWAK], number of awakenings [NWAK], sleep quality [SQ], sleep onset latency [SOL], and wake time after sleep onset [WASO]) as predictors of perceived stress, controlling for insomnia status. The omnibus regression was statistically significant, with sleep parameters accounting for 38% of variance in perceived stress, F(9, 136) = 9.32, p < .001, R2 = .38. Greater perceived stress was significantly predicted by greater daily fluctuations in sleep timing (β = .24, t = 3.54, p = .001), greater mean NWAK (β = .24, t = 3.22, p = .002), and insomnia diagnosis (β = .43, t = 4.34, p < .001). No other sleep parameters were statistically significant (ps >.05). Interaction effects and structure coefficients will be examined in the final presentation. This study indicates perceived stress is predicted by the variability in sleep timing and number of awakenings when insomnia diagnosis was accounted for. Restless sleep with more awakenings and irregular sleep timing may contribute to increased perceived stress, although causality is yet unexplored in this sample. Future studies should incorporate study designs that can assess causality in the complex relationship between sleep/wake parameters and perceived stress across varied populations. NIH grant AI085558 NIAID (DJT, KK)