Facets of Impulsivity Are Differentially Linked to Insomnia: Evidence From an Exploratory Study

This study investigated the association between insomnia and four facets of impulsivity as distinguished by Whiteside and Lynam (2001) Whiteside, S. P. and Lynam, D. R. 2001. The five factor model and impulsivity: Using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 30: 669–689. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]: urgency, (lack of) premeditation, (lack of) perseverance, and sensation seeking. A sample of 233 university students completed the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale, the Insomnia Severity Index, and a short questionnaire on sleep-related mentation. Correlational analyses revealed that urgency was related to insomnia severity and insomnia-related impairments in daytime functioning, and that lack of perseverance was related to insomnia-related impairments in daytime functioning. Follow-up analyses showed that the frequency of disturbing thoughts and visions during the pre-sleep period partially mediated the relation between urgency and sleep-initiation problems, and that the frequency of disturbing dreams and nightmares partially mediated the relation between urgency and sleep-maintenance problems. These findings suggest that the facets of impulsivity are differentially linked to insomnia and that urgency is associated with sleep-interfering nighttime mentation.