Effect of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia on sleep quality among college students: the role of hyperarousal and dysfunctional beliefs

Abstract

Background: Although cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an effective treatment for sleep disorders, little is known about the role of hyperarousal (especially trait arousal) in CBT-I interventions. Therefore, this study investigated the role of trait arousal in the maintenance of sleep problems using cross-sectional and longitudinal methods.

Methods: Study 1, 1209 Chinese university students (63.9% female) completed the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (DBAS-16), Pre-sleep Arousal Scale (PSAS), Arousal Predisposition Scale (APS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The study calculated the moderating role of trait arousal in the relationship between dysfunctional beliefs about sleep and sleep quality. In study two, 89 participants completed the questionnaire used in Study 1 during pre-and post-treatment. A within-subjects mediation analysis examined the indirect effects of dysfunctional beliefs about sleep pre-sleep arousal (cognitive and somatic) on sleep quality. A within-subjects moderation analysis was used to investigate whether baseline trait arousal moderated sleep quality.

Results: Cross-sectional findings indicated that pre-sleep cognitive arousal mediated the effects of dysfunctional beliefs about sleep on sleep quality and that trait arousal moderated the first half of the mediating pathway described above; longitudinal analyses indicated that changes in dysfunctional beliefs about sleep and pre-sleep cognitive arousal mediated changes in sleep quality, and that, in addition, trait arousal moderated changes in sleep quality.

Conclusion: Trait arousal correlates with the maintenance of sleep problems, and participants with higher trait arousal benefited less from CBT-I. Enhancement programs that incorporate mindfulness may be a direction for future research.