Later Bedtimes Predict Prospective Increases in Symptom Severity in Individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): An Initial Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Prior studies of sleep in individuals with OCD have often focused on sleep duration. Several studies have found that individuals with OCD sleep less than healthy controls while others have failed to find significant group differences. Addressing sleep timing has been much more rare, but have consistently shown that many individuals with severe OCD in inpatient facilities had markedly elevated rates of disruptions in sleep timing. We extend prior work by testing prospective relations between sleep and OC symptoms in individuals representing a range of OC symptom severity. Twenty-six individuals diagnosed with OCD, 18 healthy controls, and 10 with subthreshold OC symptoms, completed seven days of sleep diaries and OCD symptom ratings. Results showed that sleep timing (later bedtimes) predicted prospective increases in both obsessions and compulsions in individuals with OCD but not the other two groups. In contrast, there were no significant effects of sleep duration. The significant effects of sleep timing in the OCD group were maintained controlling for depressive symptoms and OCD symptoms did not predict prospective changes in sleep timing. In conclusion, there is increasing evidence that sleep timing may play an important role in OCD and additional work in this area is encouraged.