An Examination of Anxiety Sensitivity as a Moderator of the Relation Between Sleep Anticipatory Anxiety and Sleep Onset Latency

Evidence suggests that advancing currently limited knowledge about self-reported sleep onset latency is important for better understanding insomnia. Relatively little research has been conducted to understand factors that affect sleep onset latency. The current study tested a hypothesized role of factors of the global anxiety sensitivity (AS) construct as moderators of the relation between sleep onset latency and physical and cognitive components of sleep anticipatory anxiety. As hypothesized, AS-Physical Concerns moderated the relation between the physical component of sleep anticipatory anxiety and sleep onset latency, even after controlling for age, gender, negative affect, and substance use variables. However, in contrast to prediction, AS-Mental Incapacitation Concerns did not appear to moderate the relation between sleep onset latency and the cognitive component of sleep anticipatory anxiety. These findings are discussed in terms of extant research on sleep onset latency, and future directions for research to advance this body of knowledge are considered.