Anxiety and depression mediate the relationship between insomnia symptoms and the personality traits of conscientiousness and emotional stability

Umair Akram; Maria Gardani; Asha Akram; Sarah Allen

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01939

Anxiety and depression mediate the relationship between insomnia symptoms and the personality traits of conscientiousness and emotional stability

Heliyon. 2019 Jun 12;5(6):e01939. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01939. eCollection 2019 Jun.

Authors

Umair Akram^{1

2}, Maria Gardani³, Asha Akram⁴, Sarah Allen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics, Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
² Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK.
³ School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK.
⁴ Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, UK.
⁵ Mental Health and Addiction Research Group, University of York, UK.

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and insomnia symptoms in the general population. Additionally, the mediating role of anxiety and depression was examined. Participants (N = 625) completed online measures of the big five personality traits and insomnia severity. Insomnia symptoms were independently related to extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, anxiety and depression in univariate analysis. Linear regression determined conscientiousness and emotional stability to be the only traits predicting insomnia symptoms. However, these relationships were at least partially mediated by anxiety and depression. Whilst reduced levels of conscientiousness and emotional stability has previously associated with poor sleep and insomnia, the current outcomes shed light on the mechanisms which serve to mediate this relationship.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Insomnia; Personality; Psychology.