Insomnia, Time Perspective, and Personality Traits: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Non-Clinical Population

Abstract

Insomnia disorder is considered a public health problem and additional studies should investigate predisposing and perpetuating factors. This study examined the relationship between Big Five personality traits, time perspective, and insomnia. In a cross-sectional study, 400 participants (227 women; age range 18–74 years) were administered the Big Five Inventory—10 items, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). A measure of chronotype was also included for control purposes. The results show that insomniacs reported lower scores for conscientiousness and extraversion, and for past-positive (PP) and future (F) perspectives, whereas they obtained higher scores for past-negative (PN) perspectives and deviation from a balanced time perspective. The correlations confirmed these findings, but negative correlations between present-hedonistic (PH) perspective and ISI score, and between emotional stability and ISI score, were also found. The mediation analyses showed that F played an indirect role in the relationship between consciousness and ISI score, PN had an indirect effect on the relationship between emotional stability and ISI or between extraversion and insomnia, and PH had an indirect effect on the relationship between extraversion and ISI score. The current outcomes shed light on the mechanisms which serve to mediate the relationship between insomnia and personality traits.

Personality and insomnia: A systematic review and narrative synthesis

“…Most studies collected cross‐sectional data, with N = 10 employing a longitudinal design (Akram et al, 2015; Dørheim et al, 2016; Ellis et al, 2021; Husson et al, 2015; Jansson‐Fröjmark & Linton, 2007; Larsgård & Saksvik‐Lehouillier, 2017; Reeve et al, 2018; Singareddy et al, 2012; Sørengaard et al 2022; Trudel‐Fitzgerald et al, 2017). Moreover, N = 15 studies restricted sampling to students (Brand et al, 2015; Emert et al, 2017; Fabbri et al, 2022; Lauriola et al, 2019; Lukowski & Tsukerman, 2021; Ma et al, 2020; Polner et al, 2018; Zamani Sani et al, 2023; Schmidt et al, 2010, 2018; Scott et al, 2017; Shealy et al, 1980; Yuksel et al, 2022; Uygur et al, 2023). Most studies ( N = 44) sampled individuals experiencing symptoms of insomnia, whereas the remaining sampled individuals meeting the appropriate diagnostic criterion for insomnia at the time of data collection ( N = 32) and deployed questionnaires assessing insomnia‐symptoms.…”

“…To date, studies evidence at least one trait as being related to the symptoms of insomnia. In particular, the experience of insomnia and/or insomnia symptoms appears to be consistently related to reduced levels of emotional stability, extraversion, and conscientiousness (Akram et al, 2019; Dekker et al, 2017; DeShong & Tucker, 2019; Dørheim et al, 2016; Ellis et al, 2021; Evren et al, 2019; Fabbri et al, 2022; Gurtman et al, 2014; Khazaie et al, 2019; LeBlanc et al, 2007, 2009; Larsgård & Saksvik‐Lehouillier, 2017; Ren et al, 2019; Rojo‐Wissar et al, 2021; Sassoon et al, 2014; Sørengaard et al 2022; Van de Laar et al, 2017; Yuksel et al, 2022). Here, of the N = 19 studies yielded, insomnia symptoms were related to reduced emotional stability in N = 18, reduced conscientiousness in N = 11, and reduced extraversion in N = 10.…”

“…The methodological approach substantially varied across the yielded studies, particularly in relation to the sample population, design, and measurement of five factor traits. Crucially, few studies have sampled individuals meeting a formal insomnia diagnosis (Ellis et al, 2021; Gurtman et al, 2014; Sassoon et al, 2014; Van de Laar et al, 2017) or examined the role of insomnia symptoms in the general (Akram et al, 2019; DeShong & Tucker, 2019; LeBlanc et al, 2007, 2009) or student population(s) (Emert et al, 2019; Fabbri et al, 2022; Yuksel et al, 2022). The remaining studies sampled shift workers (Larsgård & Saksvik‐Lehouillier, 2017), earthquake survivors (Khazaie et al, 2019), pregnant women (Dørheim et al, 2016), breast cancer patients (Ren et al, 2019), police officers (Sørengaard et al, 2022), and older adults (Rojo‐Wissar et al, 2021; Sørengaard et al, 2022).…”

“…The methodological approach substantially varied across the yielded studies, particularly in relation to the sample population, design, and measurement of five factor traits. Crucially, few studies have sampled individuals meeting a formal insomnia diagnosis (Ellis et al, 2021;Gurtman et al, 2014;Sassoon et al, 2014;Van de Laar et al, 2017) or examined the role of insomnia symptoms in the general (Akram et al, 2019;DeShong & Tucker, 2019;LeBlanc et al, 2007LeBlanc et al, , 2009 or student population(s) (Emert et al, 2019;Fabbri et al, 2022;Yuksel et al, 2022).…”

The Italian Validation of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and Its Comparison with Three Time Perspective Inventories

“…Time perspective (TP) defines a process by which individuals automatically categorize the flow of their personal experiences into psychological time frames of past, present, and future [1]. These temporal frames influence several human behaviors, such as risk taking, health-promoting behavior, quality of life, and sleep quality [2][3][4][5]. In the literature, TP can be related to individual differences [6][7][8][9][10], socioeconomic status [11][12][13], cultural effects [14][15][16][17][18], and different personality traits [19,20].…”