Tired and lack focus?

Christopher B. Miller, David J. Robertson, Keith A. Johnson, Nicole Lovato, Delwyn J. Bartlett, Ronald R. Grunstein, Christopher J. Gordon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Chronic insomnia is associated with subjective daytime cognitive dysfunction, but objective corroborative data are often lacking. In this study, we use Perceptual Load Theory to objectively assess distractibility in participants with insomnia (N = 23) compared with age- and sex-matched controls (N = 23). Following overnight supervised sleep observation, all participants completed a selective attention task which varied in the level of perceptual load and distractor congruency. The insomnia group was found to be more distracted than controls, whereas their selective attention mechanism appeared to be intact, with reduced distractor processing under high load for both groups. Insomnia symptom severity was positively correlated with participant distractibility. These findings suggest that there are insomnia-related daytime cognitive impairments that are likely to arise from compromised cognitive control rather than an ineffective selective attention mechanism. This task may be clinically useful in assessing daytime impairments, and potentially treatment response, in those with insomnia.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)795-804
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Health Psychology
Volume26
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2021

Keywords

  • distraction
  • insomnia
  • perceptual load
  • selective attention
  • sleep

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Tired and lack focus?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this