Sleep: an important factor in stress‐health models

Abstract

A growing body of literature supports the notion that psychological stress negatively impacts physical health. In parallel to this programme of stress/health investigations, researchers are demonstrating the deleterious health effects of poor sleep. The current study simultaneously examines the association of both stress and sleep with health. Two hundred and eighteen subjects completed an anonymous survey packet that included stress, sleep and health measures. Psychological stress (as assessed by both life-events and by self-perceived stress), daytime sleepiness and poor sleep quality, but not sleep quantity, were all negatively associated with health. A regression model that integrated both stress measures was a statistically signifi cant predictor of health. Adding the sleep measures to the stress-health model accounted for a statistically signifi cantly greater proportion of the variance in health scores, with the stress + sleep model accounting for 39-56 per cent of the variance in health scores depending on the health measure used. These results suggest that studies of stress and health may benefi t from the inclusion of sleep measures and that, from a practical standpoint, poor sleep might be best understood not simply as a sequela of psychological stress but rather as a factor that should be actively addressed as part of the treatment programme.

Noise and stress effects on preschool personnel

“…[4] Sleep is an important health factor in stress -health models. [39] Benham showed that the stress -health model used in his study was strengthened by adding sleep quality to it. Ekstedt et al [40] showed that patients suffering from occupational burnout also suffer from severe sleepiness and mental fatigue and that impaired sleep is an important factor in the development of burnout and fatigue.…”

Insomnia and urban neighbourhood contexts – are associations modified by individual social characteristics and change of residence? Results from a population-based study using residential histories

“…Insomnia is assumed to play a crucial role in the complex relationship between stress and health [10]. By undermining regulatory systems and immune functions in its wake, chronic insomnia can aggravate other acute and chronic diseases, which, in turn, may impair sleep quality.…”

The interplay between relationship effectiveness, life stress, and sleep: A prospective study

“…To date, research examining the effects of relationship quality or stress exposure on sleep outcomes has relied on either cross‐sectional data (e.g., Benham, ; Drake et al, ) or data regarding daily variations in relationship quality or stress on sleep over brief periods of time (e.g., Kane et al, ; Selcuk et al, ). Although this important work has demonstrated the significance of concurrent interpersonal processes and stressors for sleep quality and duration, the extent to which relationship functioning and stress exposure exert cumulative impacts on sleep over time remains unclear.…”

“…Exposure to laboratory stressors prior to sleep, such as engaging in a stressful task (Chen, Jarrin, Ivers, & Morin, ) or anticipating giving a speech (Germain, Buysse, Ombao, Kupfer, & Hall, ), predicts lower sleep efficiency, delayed sleep onset, and more frequent nighttime awakenings. Cross‐sectional studies have also confirmed that exposure to more stressful everyday hassles (Benham, ) and stressful life events (Drake, Pillai, & Roth, ) are associated with sleep impairments (e.g., worse subjective sleep quality, higher risk for insomnia).…”