[Sleep disorders: strategies for managing conflict by insomnia patients].
Hermann-Maurer. E K EK; Drews. U U; Imhof-Eichenberger. E E; Knab. H H; Schneider-Helmert. D D; Hentschel. U U; Schoenenberger. G A GA
Key Findings
- Insomniacs show lower levels of aggressive coping (TAS) and projection (PRO) than healthy controls.
- A higher tendency to turn against oneself (TAS) correlates with greater depressive symptoms in insomniacs.
- Coping styles are linked to specific personality traits measured by the Freiburger Persönlichkeitsinventar.
Practical Outcomes
- For biohackers focusing on sleep, the findings suggest that monitoring and adjusting personal coping strategies—especially reducing self‑critical thoughts—might help mitigate depressive symptoms associated with insomnia. While not a direct protocol, incorporating stress‑management or cognitive‑behavioral techniques could complement other sleep‑optimizing interventions.
Summary
The study compared people with insomnia to healthy sleepers and found that insomniacs tend to use less aggressive coping styles and are less likely to assume hostile intentions in situations. Their coping style that involves turning against themselves (TAS) is linked to more depressive symptoms. These patterns also relate to certain personality traits.
Abstract
The investigation compares 136 insomniacs with 102 healthy controls with respect to their coping strategies. Coping strategies are evaluated with the questionnaire FKBS. This questionnaire measures 5 different coping strategies: TAS--turning against subject; TAO--turning against object; REV--reversal; PRN--prinzipialisation; PRO projection. Insomniacs seem to react less aggressive than healthy controls. They also show less projections, i.e. they do not believe in a hostile intention of a situation or a counterpart. These differences could be shown on the level of behaviour as well as experience. With the personality traits of the FPI (Freiburger Persönlichkeitsinventar FPI-R) there are some significant correlations. Finally there exists also a correlation between the strategy TAS and the incidence and intensity of depressive symptoms (i.e. state-variabels).
Study Information
pubmed
1992