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The Role of Mindfulness in the Insomnia Severity of Female Chronic Hypnotic Users

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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate dispositional mindfulness, psychiatric symptoms, and their relationship with insomnia severity among female chronic hypnotic users.

Methods

Observational, cross-sectional study, including 76 women with chronic hypnotic use. Participants completed several self-report questionnaires: sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms (CES-D), anxiety levels (STAI-T), dispositional mindfulness (FFMQ), and insomnia severity (ISI). Exploratory linear regression models were used to identify factors related to insomnia severity.

Results

Multiple linear regression models showed that, for the total sample (N = 76), age (B = − 0.14, p = 0.003), depressive symptoms (B = 0.16, p = 0.005), and the mindfulness facets “observe” (B = 0.21. p = 0.013) and “act with awareness—auto pilot” (B = − 0.48, p = 0.017) were correlated to insomnia severity.

Conclusion

Results confirm a relationship between mindfulness and insomnia among female chronic hypnotic users, specifically regarding the ability to observe and act with awareness. A higher score on the “observe” facet was positively correlated with insomnia. This may be because the skill of observing itself, isolated from other mindfulness precepts, does not provide sufficient strategies to cope with the observed discomfort. Increased “acting with awareness—autopilot” was negatively correlated with insomnia severity, arguably because it stimulates breaking automatic patterns of thoughts and behaviors that contribute to the perpetuation of the insomnia cycle.

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Acknowledgements

We express appreciation to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico for the financial support; Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa for the infrastructure, statistical consulting by Unifesp, Izabela Bichir for grammar review, and all colleagues from Nepsis for their valuable contributions.

Funding

This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico under grant 407116/2013-3.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nepsis – Research Center on Health and Substance Use – MBRP Brasil – Brazilian Center for Research and Training in Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, São Paulo, Brazil, Department of Psychobiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Botucatu, 862, 1° andar Ed. Ciências Biomédicas, Vila Clementino, São Paulo, SP, 04023-062, Brazil

    Daniela Curado, Viviam Barros, Emérita Opaleye & Ana Regina Noto

  2. Psychology Department, Pacific University, School of Health Professions, 190 SE 8th Ave., Hillsboro, OR, 97123, USA

    Sarah Bowen

  3. Department of Psychobiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Napoleão de Barros, 925 Vila Clementino, São Paulo, SP, 04024-002, Brazil

    Helena Hachul

  4. Department of Gynecology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, R. Napoleão de Barros, 608 - Vila Clementino, São Paulo, SP, 04024-002, Brazil

    Helena Hachul

  5. Department of Gynecology, Casa de Saúde Santa Marcelina, Rua Santa Marcelina, 91 – Itaquera, São Paulo, SP, 08270-070, Brazil

    Helena Hachul

Authors
  1. Daniela Curado
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  2. Viviam Barros
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  4. Sarah Bowen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniela Curado.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (CEP number 0123/2016) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Curado, D., Barros, V., Opaleye, E. et al. The Role of Mindfulness in the Insomnia Severity of Female Chronic Hypnotic Users. Int.J. Behav. Med. 25, 526–531 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-018-9724-1

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