Chronic insomnia, REM sleep instability and emotional dysregulation: A pathway to anxiety and depression?

The world-wide prevalence of insomnia disorder reaches up to 10% of the adult population. Women are more often afflicted than men, and insomnia disorder is a risk factor for somatic and mental illness, especially depression and anxiety disorders. Persistent hyperarousals at the cognitive, emotional, cortical and/or physiological levels are central to most theories regarding the pathophysiology of insomnia. Of the defining features of insomnia disorder, the discrepancy between minor objective polysomnographic alterations of sleep continuity and substantive subjective impairment in insomnia disorder remains enigmatic. Microstructural alterations, especially in rapid eye movement sleep ("rapid eye movement sleep instability"), might explain this mismatch between subjective and objective findings. As rapid eye movement sleep represents the most highly aroused brain state during sleep, it might be particularly prone to fragmentation in individuals with persistent hyperarousal. In consequence, mentation during rapid eye movement sleep may be toned more as conscious-like wake experience, reflecting pre-sleep concerns. It is suggested that this instability of rapid eye movement sleep is involved in the mismatch between subjective and objective measures of sleep in insomnia disorder. Furthermore, as rapid eye movement sleep has been linked in previous works to emotional processing, rapid eye movement sleep instability could play a central role in the close association between insomnia and depressive and anxiety disorders.

Digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia reduces insomnia in nurses suffering from shift work disorder: A randomised-controlled pilot trial.

Insomnia is a primary symptom of shift work disorder, yet it remains undertreated. This randomised-controlled pilot trial examined the efficacy of a digital, guided cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia adapted to shift work (SleepCare) in nurses with shift work disorder. The hypothesis was that SleepCare reduces insomnia severity compared with a waitlist control condition. A total of 46 unmedicated nurses suffering from shift work disorder with insomnia (age: 39.7 ± 12.1 years; 80.4% female) were randomised to the SleepCare group or the waitlist control group. The primary outcome measure was the Insomnia Severity Index. Other questionnaires on sleep, mental health and occupational functioning, sleep diary data and actigraphy data were analysed as secondary outcomes. Assessments were conducted before (T0), after the intervention/waitlist period (T1), and 6 months after treatment completion (T2). The SleepCare group showed a significant reduction in insomnia severity from T0 to T1 compared with the control condition (ß = -4.73, SE = 1.12, p < 0.001). Significant improvements were observed in sleepiness, dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, pre-sleep arousal, sleep effort, self-reported sleep efficiency and sleep onset latency. No significant effect was found in actigraphy data. Depressive and anxiety symptoms, cognitive irritation and work ability improved significantly. Overall, satisfaction and engagement with the intervention was high. SleepCare improved insomnia severity, sleep, mental health and occupational functioning. This is the first randomised-controlled trial investigating the efficacy of digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia in a population suffering from shift work disorder with insomnia. Future research should further explore these effects with larger sample sizes and active control conditions.

The importance and limitations of polysomnography in insomnia disorder-a critical appraisal.

The importance polysomnography (PSG) in the diagnosis and treatment process of insomnia disorder (ID) remains highly disputed. This review summarises the state of the science regarding PSG indications and findings in ID, and the indications to conduct PSG in ID as stated by relevant guidelines. It then highlights the most relevant questions regarding the topic, including the relevance of ID subtyping, to allow an individualised pharmacological or psychotherapeutic treatment approach.

How many hours do you sleep? A comparison of subjective and objective sleep duration measures in a sample of insomnia patients and good sleepers.

Our objective was to assess the agreement and linear relationships amongst multiple measures of sleep duration in a sample of patients with insomnia disorder and good sleeper controls. We retrospectively analysed data from 123 patients with insomnia disorder and 123 age- and gender-matched good sleeper controls who completed a simple subjective habitual sleep duration question (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), a sleep diary (5-14 days), 2 nights of polysomnography, and two corresponding morning subjective estimates of sleep duration. Descriptive statistics, linear regression analyses and Bland-Altman plots were used to describe the relationship and (dis)agreement between sleep duration measures. Relationships between polysomnography and the simple question as well as between polysomnography and sleep diary were weak to non-existent. Subjective measures and polysomnography did not agree. Sleep duration measured with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index or sleep diary was about 2 hr above or up to 4 hr below polysomnography-measured sleep duration. Patients with insomnia disorder, on average, reported shorter sleep duration compared with polysomnography, while good sleeper controls, on average, reported longer sleep duration compared with polysomnography. The results suggest that subjective and objective measures apparently capture different aspects of sleep, even when nominally addressing the same value (sleep duration). They disagree in both patients with insomnia disorder and good sleeper controls, but in different directions. Studies assessing sleep duration should take into account both the investigated population and the assessment method when interpreting results. Future studies should continue to investigate possible psychological and physiological correlates of sleep (mis)perception.

On the relationship between EEG spectral analysis and pre-sleep cognitive arousal in insomnia disorder: towards an integrated model of cognitive and cortical arousal.

According to the hyperarousal model, insomnia is characterised by increased arousal in the cortical, cognitive, and physiological domains. However, the interaction between these arousal domains is poorly understood. The present observational case-control study aimed to investigate cortical arousal during the night, pre-sleep cognitive arousal and the relationship between these two domains. A total of 109 patients with insomnia disorder (ID) and 109 age-and gender matched healthy controls were investigated on two sleep laboratory nights. Electroencephalographic (EEG) spectral power during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and REM sleep was analysed as a measure of cortical arousal. In addition, patients completed the Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale (PSAS), which consists of two subscales, one for cognitive arousal (PSAS-CA) and one for self-reported somatic arousal (PSAS-SA). The relationship between the subscale scores and EEG spectral power was calculated by multi- and univariate analyses of variance. During NREM and REM sleep, patients with ID showed significantly increased spectral power in the EEG gamma band. In addition, patients with ID showed significantly increased scores on both subscales of the PSAS. The PSAS-CA score was significantly associated with increased NREM and REM gamma power, whereas PSAS-SA was associated with decreases in NREM and REM gamma power. Consistent with our hypothesis, patients with ID showed increased cortical and cognitive arousal. Moreover, there was an association between these two arousal domains, which may indicate that cortical arousal during the night is (at least in part) elicited by pre-sleep worry and rumination.

Adherence to sleep restriction therapy - An evaluation of existing measures.

Sleep restriction, a key element of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, involves considerable behavioural changes in patients' lives, leading to side-effects like increased daytime sleepiness. Studies on sleep restriction rarely report adherence, and when assessed it is often limited to the average number of therapy sessions attended. This study aims to systematically evaluate different measures of adherence to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia and their relationship with treatment outcome. This is a secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial investigating cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (Johann et al. (2020) Journal of Sleep Research, 29, e13102). The sample included 23 patients diagnosed with insomnia according to DSM-5 criteria who underwent 8 weeks of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia. The following adherence measures based on sleep diary data were used: number of sessions completed; deviations from agreed time in bed; average percentage of patients deviating from bedtime by 15, 30 or 60 min; variability of bedtime and wake-up time; change in time in bed from pre- to post-assessment. Treatment outcome was assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index. Multiple regression models were employed, and insomnia severity was controlled for. Results showed that none of the adherence measures predict insomnia severity. Baseline insomnia severity, dysfunctional thoughts and attitudes about sleep, depression or perfectionism did not predict adherence. The limited variance in the outcome parameter due to most patients benefiting from treatment and the small sample size may explain these findings. Additionally, using objective measures like actigraphy could provide a better understanding of adherence behaviour. Lastly, the presence of perfectionism in patients with insomnia may have mitigated adherence problems in this study.

Associations between insomnia symptoms and functional connectivity in the UK Biobank cohort (n = 29,423).

An increasing number of studies harness resting-state fMRI functional connectivity analysis to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms of insomnia. The results to date are inconsistent and the detection of minor and widely distributed alterations in functional connectivity requires large sample sizes. The present study investigated associations between insomnia symptoms and resting-state functional connectivity at the whole-brain level in the largest sample to date. This cross-sectional analysis used resting-state imaging data from the UK Biobank, a large scale, population-based biomedical database. The analysis included 29,423 participants (age: 63.1 ± 7.5 years, 54.3% female), comprising 9210 with frequent insomnia symptoms and 20,213 controls without. Linear models were adjusted for relevant clinical, imaging, and socio-demographic variables. The Akaike information criterion was used for model selection. Multiple comparisons were corrected using the false discovery rate with a significance level of q < 0.05. Frequent insomnia symptoms were associated with increased connectivity within the default mode network and frontoparietal network, increased negative connectivity between the default mode network and the frontoparietal network, and decreased connectivity between the salience network and a node of the default mode network. Furthermore, frequent insomnia symptoms were associated with altered functional connectivity between nodes comprising sensory areas and the cerebellum. These functional alterations of brain networks may underlie dysfunctional affective and cognitive processing in insomnia and contribute to subjectively and objectively impaired sleep. However, it must be noted that the item that was used to assess frequent insomnia symptoms in this study did not assess all the characteristics of clinically diagnosed insomnia.

No alterations in potential indirect markers of locus coeruleus-norepinephrine function in insomnia disorder.

The norepinephrine locus coeruleus system (LC NE) represents a promising treatment target in patients with insomnia disorder (ID) due to its well understood links to arousal and sleep regulation. However, consistent markers of LC NE activity are lacking. This study measured three potential indirect markers of LC NE activity - REM sleep, P3 amplitude during an auditory oddball paradigm (as a marker of phasic LC activation), and baseline pupil diameter (as a marker of tonic LC activation). The parameters were then combined in a statistical model and tested to compare LC NE activity between 20 subjects with insomnia disorder (13 female; age 44.2 ± 15.1 year) and 20 healthy, good sleeping controls (GSC; 11 female; age 45.4 ± 11.6 year). No group differences regarding the primary outcome parameters were detected. Specifically, insomnia disorder did not display the hypothesised changes in markers of LC NE function. While increased LC NE function remains an interesting speculative pathway for hyperarousal in insomnia disorder, the investigated markers do not appear closely related to each other and fail to discriminate between insomnia disorder and good sleeping controls in these samples.

Help for insomnia from the app store? A standardized rating of mobile health applications claiming to target insomnia.

A large number of mobile health applications claiming to target insomnia are available in commercial app stores. However, limited information on the quality of these mobile health applications exists. The present study aimed to systematically search the European Google Play and Apple App Store for mobile health applications targeting insomnia, and evaluate the quality, content, evidence base and potential therapeutic benefit. Eligible mobile health applications were evaluated by two independent reviewers using the Mobile Application Rating Scale-German, which ranges from 1 - inadequate to 5 - excellent. Of 2236 identified mobile health applications, 53 were included in this study. Most mobile health applications (68%) had a moderate overall quality. Concerning the four main subscales of the Mobile Application Rating Scale-German, functionality was rated highest (M = 4.01, SD = 0.52), followed by information quality (M = 3.49, SD = 0.72), aesthetics (M = 3.31, SD = 1.04) and engagement (M = 3.02, SD = 1.03). While scientific evidence was identified for 10 mobile health applications (19%), only one study employed a randomized controlled design. Fifty mobile health applications featured sleep hygiene/psychoeducation (94%), 27 cognitive therapy (51%), 26 relaxation methods (49%), 24 stimulus control (45%), 16 sleep restriction (30%) and 24 sleep diaries (45%). Mobile health applications may have the potential to improve the care of insomnia. Yet, data on the effectiveness of mobile health applications are scarce, and this study indicates a large variance in the quality of the mobile health applications. Thus, independent information platforms are needed to provide healthcare seekers and providers with reliable information on the quality and content of mobile health applications.

Lack of structural brain alterations associated with insomnia: findings from the ENIGMA-Sleep Working Group.

Existing neuroimaging studies have reported divergent structural alterations in insomnia disorder (ID). In the present study, we performed a large-scale coordinated meta-analysis by pooling structural brain measures from 1085 subjects (mean [SD] age 50.5 [13.9] years, 50.2% female, 17.4% with insomnia) across three international Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA)-Sleep cohorts. Two sites recruited patients with ID/controls: Freiburg (University of Freiburg Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany) 42/43 and KUMS (Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran) 42/49, while the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP-Trend, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany) recruited population-based individuals with/without insomnia symptoms 75/662. The influence of insomnia on magnetic resonance imaging-based brain morphometry using an insomnia brain score was then assessed. Within each cohort, we used an ordinary least-squares linear regression to investigate the link between the individual regional cortical and subcortical volumes and the presence of insomnia symptoms. Then, we performed a fixed-effects meta-analysis across cohorts based on the first-level results. For the insomnia brain score, weighted logistic ridge regression was performed on one sample (Freiburg), which separated patients with ID from controls to train a model based on the segmentation measurements. Afterward, the insomnia brain scores were validated using the other two samples. The model was used to predict the log-odds of the subjects with insomnia given individual insomnia-related brain atrophy. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, we did not detect any significant associations between insomnia symptoms and cortical or subcortical volumes, nor could we identify a global insomnia-related brain atrophy pattern. Thus, we observed inconsistent brain morphology differences between individuals with and without insomnia across three independent cohorts. Further large-scale cross-sectional/longitudinal studies using both structural and functional neuroimaging are warranted to decipher the neurobiology of insomnia.

The European Insomnia Guideline: An update on the diagnosis and treatment of insomnia 2023.

Progress in the field of insomnia since 2017 necessitated this update of the European Insomnia Guideline. Recommendations for the diagnostic procedure for insomnia and its comorbidities are: clinical interview (encompassing sleep and medical history); the use of sleep questionnaires and diaries (and physical examination and additional measures where indicated) (A). Actigraphy is not recommended for the routine evaluation of insomnia (C), but may be useful for differential-diagnostic purposes (A). Polysomnography should be used to evaluate other sleep disorders if suspected (i.e. periodic limb movement disorder, sleep-related breathing disorders, etc.), treatment-resistant insomnia (A) and for other indications (B). Cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia is recommended as the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia in adults of any age (including patients with comorbidities), either applied in-person or digitally (A). When cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia is not sufficiently effective, a pharmacological intervention can be offered (A). Benzodiazepines (A), benzodiazepine receptor agonists (A), daridorexant (A) and low-dose sedating antidepressants (B) can be used for the short-term treatment of insomnia (≤ 4 weeks). Longer-term treatment with these substances may be initiated in some cases, considering advantages and disadvantages (B). Orexin receptor antagonists can be used for periods of up to 3 months or longer in some cases (A). Prolonged-release melatonin can be used for up to 3 months in patients ≥ 55 years (B). Antihistaminergic drugs, antipsychotics, fast-release melatonin, ramelteon and phytotherapeutics are not recommended for insomnia treatment (A). Light therapy and exercise interventions may be useful as adjunct therapies to cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia (B).

Effectiveness of an internet-based intervention to improve sleep difficulties in a culturally diverse sample of international students: A randomised controlled pilot study.

Sleep difficulties are widespread among international students. Internet-based interventions are suggested as a low-threshold treatment option but may require cultural adaptation among culturally diverse populations. The present pilot study investigated the effectiveness and acceptance of an internet-based intervention to improve sleep difficulties in international students. A total of 81 international students of 36 nationalities were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 41) or waitlist control group (n = 40). The intervention group received immediate access to a culturally non-adapted unguided internet-based sleep intervention consisting of three modules based on sleep hygiene and cognitive techniques to reduce rumination. At baseline, 4 and 12 weeks after randomisation, insomnia severity, measured by the Insomnia Severity Index, and secondary outcomes (sleep quality, depression, anxiety, perceived stress, well-being, presenteeism, mental health literacy) were assessed. Data were analysed using linear multi-level analyses. Additionally, satisfaction and perceived cultural appropriateness of the intervention were evaluated by international students after 4 weeks, and compared with ratings of German students, who represent the original target group. Insomnia severity improved over time in the intervention group compared to the control group, revealing a significant estimated mean difference of -5.60 (Hedges' g = 0.84, p < 0.001) after 12 weeks. Satisfaction and perceived cultural appropriateness was high and comparable to that of German students. The present study shows that a culturally non-adapted internet-based sleep intervention can be a low-threshold treatment option to help meet the high demand for mental healthcare among international students. It thus indicates that cultural adaptation might not represent a precondition for providing effective internet-based sleep interventions to this target group.

Insomnia disorder: State of the science and challenges for the future.

Insomnia disorder comprises symptoms during night and day that strongly affect quality of life and wellbeing. Prolonged sleep latency, difficulties to maintain sleep and early morning wakening characterize sleep complaints, whereas fatigue, reduced attention, impaired cognitive functioning, irritability, anxiety and low mood are key daytime impairments. Insomnia disorder is well acknowledged in all relevant diagnostic systems: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, 5th revision, International Classification of Sleep Disorders, 3rd version, and International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision. Insomnia disorder as a chronic condition is frequent (up to 10% of the adult population, with a preponderance of females), and signifies an important and independent risk factor for physical and, especially, mental health. Insomnia disorder diagnosis primarily rests on self-report. Objective measures like actigraphy or polysomnography are not (yet) part of the routine diagnostic canon, but play an important role in research. Disease concepts of insomnia range from cognitive-behavioural models to (epi-) genetics and psychoneurobiological approaches. The latter is derived from knowledge about basic sleep-wake regulation and encompass theories like rapid eye movement sleep instability/restless rapid eye movement sleep. Cognitive-behavioural models of insomnia led to the conceptualization of cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia, which is now considered as first-line treatment for insomnia worldwide. Future research strategies will include the combination of experimental paradigms with neuroimaging and may benefit from more attention to dysfunctional overnight alleviation of distress in insomnia. With respect to therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia merits widespread implementation, and digital cognitive-behavioural therapy may assist delivery along treatment guidelines. However, given the still considerable proportion of patients responding insufficiently to cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia, fundamental studies are highly necessary to better understand the brain and behavioural mechanisms underlying insomnia. Mediators and moderators of treatment response/non-response and the associated development of tailored and novel interventions also require investigation. Recent studies suggest that treatment of insomnia may prove to add significantly as a preventive strategy to combat the global burden of mental disorders.

Co-ordination of brain and heart oscillations during non-rapid eye movement sleep.

Oscillatory activities of the brain and heart show a strong variation across wakefulness and sleep. Separate lines of research indicate that non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep is characterised by electroencephalographic slow oscillations (SO), sleep spindles, and phase-amplitude coupling of these oscillations (SO-spindle coupling), as well as an increase in high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), reflecting enhanced parasympathetic activity. The present study aimed to investigate further the potential coordination between brain and heart oscillations during NREM sleep. Data were derived from one sleep laboratory night with polysomnographic monitoring in 45 healthy participants (22 male, 23 female; mean age 37 years). The associations between the strength (modulation index [MI]) and phase direction of SO-spindle coupling (circular measure) and HF-HRV during NREM sleep were investigated using linear modelling. First, a significant SO-spindle coupling (MI) was observed for all participants during NREM sleep, with spindle peaks preferentially occurring during the SO upstate (phase direction). Second, linear model analyses of NREM sleep showed a significant relationship between the MI and HF-HRV (F = 20.1, r2  = 0.30, p < 0.001) and a tentative circular-linear correlation between phase direction and HF-HRV (F = 3.07, r2  = 0.12, p = 0.056). We demonstrated a co-ordination between SO-spindle phase-amplitude coupling and HF-HRV during NREM sleep, presumably related to parallel central nervous and peripheral vegetative arousal systems regulation. Further investigating the fine-graded co-ordination of brain and heart oscillations might improve our understanding of the links between sleep and cardiovascular health.

Psychological interventions to improve sleep in college students: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Sleep disturbances and insomnia are common in college students, and reduce their quality of life and academic performance. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of psychological interventions aimed at improving sleep in college students. A meta-analysis was conducted with 10 randomized controlled trials with passive control conditions (N = 2,408). The overall mean effect size (Hedges' g) of all sleep-related outcomes within each trial was moderate to large (g = 0.61; 95% confidence interval: 0.41-0.81; numbers-needed-to-treat = 3). Effect sizes for global measures of sleep disturbances were g = 0.79; 95% confidence interval: 0.52-1.06; and for sleep-onset latency g = 0.65; 95% confidence interval: 0.36-0.94. The follow-up analyses revealed an effect size of g = 0.56; 95% confidence interval: 0.45-0.66 for the combined sleep-related outcomes based on three studies. No significant covariates were identified. These results should be interpreted cautiously due to an overall substantial risk of bias, and in particular with regard to blinding of participants and personnel. Nevertheless, they provide evidence that psychological interventions for improving sleep are efficacious among college students. Further research should explore long-term effects and potential moderators of treatment efficacy in college students.

Guided Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: Health-Economic Evaluation From the Societal and Public Health Care Perspective Alongside a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: The evidence base for internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (iCBT-I) is firm; however, little is known about iCBT-I's health-economic effects. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of iCBT-I in reducing insomnia among schoolteachers. METHODS: Schoolteachers (N=128) with clinically significant insomnia symptoms and work-related rumination were randomized to guided iCBT-I or a wait list control group, both with unrestricted access to treatment as usual. Health care use, patient and family expenditures, and productivity losses were self-assessed and used for costing from a societal and a public health care perspective. Costs were related to symptom-free status (score <8 on the insomnia severity index) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained. Sampling error was handled using nonparametric bootstrapping. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences favoring the intervention group were found for both health outcomes (symptom-free status yes or no: ß=.30; 95% CI 0.16-0.43; QALYs: ß=.019, 95% CI 0.01-0.03). From a societal perspective, iCBT-I had a 94% probability of dominating the wait list control for both health outcomes. From a public health care perspective, iCBT-I was more effective but also more expensive than the wait list control, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of €650 per symptom-free individual. In terms of QALYs, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was €11,285. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of €20,000 per QALY gained, the intervention's probability of being cost-effective was 89%. CONCLUSIONS: Our trial indicates that iCBT could be considered as a good value-for-money intervention for insomnia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trial Registry: DRKS00004700; https://tinyurl.com/2nnk57jm. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1186/1745-6215-14-169.

Hippocampal and medial prefrontal cortical volume is associated with overnight declarative memory consolidation independent of specific sleep oscillations.

The current study was designed to further clarify the influence of brain morphology, sleep oscillatory activity and age on memory consolidation. Specifically, we hypothesized, that a smaller volume of hippocampus, parahippocampal and medial prefrontal cortex negatively impacts declarative, but not procedural, memory consolidation. Explorative analyses were conducted to demonstrate whether a decrease in slow-wave activity negatively impacts declarative memory consolidation, and whether these factors mediate age effects on memory consolidation. Thirty-eight healthy participants underwent an acquisition session in the evening and a retrieval session in the morning after night-time sleep with polysomnographic monitoring. Declarative memory was assessed with the paired-associate word list task, while procedural memory was tested using the mirror-tracing task. All participants underwent high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Participants with smaller hippocampal, parahippocampal and medial prefrontal cortex volumes displayed a reduced overnight declarative, but not procedural memory consolidation. Mediation analyses showed significant age effects on overnight declarative memory consolidation, but no significant mediation effects of brain morphology on this association. Further mediation analyses showed that the effects of age and brain morphology on overnight declarative memory consolidation were not mediated by polysomnographic variables or sleep electroencephalogram spectral power variables. Thus, the results suggest that the association between age, specific brain area volume and overnight memory consolidation is highly relevant, but does not necessarily depend on slow-wave sleep as previously conceptualized.

Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia does not appear to have a substantial impact on early markers of cardiovascular disease: A preliminary randomized controlled trial.

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world. Therefore, early prevention of these diseases is a public health priority. Epidemiological data suggest that insomnia may be a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. A randomized controlled trial in a sample of insomnia patients without cardiovascular disease was conducted to investigate the effects of insomnia treatment on early markers of cardiovascular diseases assessed by 24-hr ambulatory blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability monitoring, and morning fasting blood samples. Forty-six patients with insomnia disorder were randomized to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I; n = 23) or a waitlist control condition (n = 23). Contrary to the hypothesis, intention-to-treat analyses did not show any significant treatment effects on early markers of cardiovascular disease (d = 0.0-0.6) despite successful insomnia treatment (d = 1.3). Potential methodological and conceptual reasons for these negative findings are discussed. Future studies might include larger sample sizes that are at risk of cardiovascular diseases and focus on other cardiovascular markers.

The European Academy for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia: An initiative of the European Insomnia Network to promote implementation and dissemination of treatment.

Insomnia, the most prevalent sleep disorder worldwide, confers marked risks for both physical and mental health. Furthermore, insomnia is associated with considerable direct and indirect healthcare costs. Recent guidelines in the US and Europe unequivocally conclude that cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) should be the first-line treatment for the disorder. Current treatment approaches are in stark contrast to these clear recommendations, not least across Europe, where, if any treatment at all is delivered, hypnotic medication still is the dominant therapeutic modality. To address this situation, a Task Force of the European Sleep Research Society and the European Insomnia Network met in May 2018. The Task Force proposed establishing a European CBT-I Academy that would enable a Europe-wide system of standardized CBT-I training and training centre accreditation. This article summarizes the deliberations of the Task Force concerning definition and ingredients of CBT-I, preconditions for health professionals to teach CBT-I, the way in which CBT-I should be taught, who should be taught CBT-I and to whom CBT-I should be administered. Furthermore, diverse aspects of CBT-I care and delivery were discussed and incorporated into a stepped-care model for insomnia.

Affect and Arousal in Insomnia: Through a Lens of Neuroimaging Studies.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Previous research has struggled with identifying clear-cut, objective counterparts to subjective distress in insomnia. Approaching this discrepancy with a focus on hyperarousal and dysfunctional affective processes, studies examining brain structures and neural networks involved in affect and arousal are reviewed and conclusions for an updated understanding of insomnia are drawn. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies found that amygdala reactivity, morphometry and adaptation in insomnia are altered, indicating that processing of negative stimuli is intensified and more lasting. Also, patients with insomnia show aberrant connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network (SN), which is associated with subjective sleep disturbances, hyperarousal, maladaptive emotion regulation and disturbed integration of emotional states. The limbic circuit is assumed to play a crucial role in enhanced recall of negative experiences. There is reason to consider insomnia as a disorder of affect and arousal. Dysregulation of the limbic circuit might perpetuate impaired connectivity in the DMN and the SN. However, the interplay between the networks is yet to be researched.