Catastrophic worry in primary insomnia

An empirical test of the proposal that catastrophic worry about the consequences of not sleeping is common among patients with primary insomnia and serves to maintain the sleep disturbance suggests that this worry is associated with increased negative affect and increased perception of threat.

Abstract

The present study aimed to provide an empirical test of the proposal that catastrophic worry about the consequences of not sleeping is common among patients with primary insomnia and serves to maintain the sleep disturbance. It was predicted that relative to good sleepers, patients with primary insomnia would catastrophize more and that catastrophizing would be associated with increased negative affect and increased perception of threat. A 'catastrophizing interview' was administered to 30 patients with primary insomnia and 30 good sleepers. Consistent with the predictions, the insomnia patients generated more catastrophes about the consequences of not sleeping and gave higher likelihood ratings than good sleepers. For the insomnia group, but not the good sleepers, the catastrophizing interview was associated with increased anxiety and discomfort. The limitations of the study, possibilities for future research, and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.