Harvey A G
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK.
Br J Clin Psychol. 2000 Sep;39(3):275-86. doi: 10.1348/014466500163284.
Pre-sleep cognitive activity has been implicated in the maintenance of sleep-onset insomnia. The present study aimed to investigate the focus of attention, content and characteristics of cognition during the pre-sleep period.
A semi-structured clinician-administered interview designed to index the content of pre-sleep cognition was completed by individuals diagnosed with sleep-onset insomnia (N = 30) and good sleepers (N = 30).
The pre-sleep cognitive activity of insomniacs could be distinguished from that of good sleepers by being more focused on worries, problems and noises in the environment, and less focused on 'nothing in particular'. In terms of content, the insomnia group were more likely to think about not sleeping or about something that had happened during the day. Insomniacs experienced their pre-sleep cognitive activity as more occupying, less intentional, for a longer duration, and as causing more difficulty with sleep onset compared to good sleepers. Pre-sleep imagery was reported at similar rates across diagnosis, but was more distressing and more likely to be associated with strong physical sensations for the insomniac group compared with the good sleeper group.
The present study provides a comprehensive investigation of pre-sleep cognitive activity and raises a number of areas for future research including monitoring of bodily sensations, imagery, problem-solving and non-active strategies in facilitating sleep onset.
睡前认知活动被认为与入睡性失眠的维持有关。本研究旨在调查睡前阶段的注意力焦点、认知内容及特点。
通过半结构化临床访谈来评估睡前认知内容，该访谈由被诊断为入睡性失眠的个体（N = 30）和睡眠良好者（N = 30）完成。
失眠者的睡前认知活动与睡眠良好者的不同，前者更关注担忧、问题及环境中的噪音，而较少关注“无特定内容”。在内容方面，失眠组更可能思考无法入睡或白天发生的事情。与睡眠良好者相比，失眠者觉得他们的睡前认知活动更占据精力、更少自主意识、持续时间更长，且更易导致入睡困难。不同诊断组报告的睡前意象发生率相似，但与睡眠良好组相比，失眠组的睡前意象更令人苦恼，且更可能伴有强烈的身体感觉。
本研究对睡前认知活动进行了全面调查，并提出了一些未来研究领域，包括监测身体感觉、意象、解决问题及促进入睡的非主动策略。
