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Alexithymia and Polysomnographic Measures of Sleep in Healthy Adults

From the Department of Psychology (R.B., M.A.L.), Wayne State University, Detroit; and the Sleep Disorders and Research Center (T.R.), Department of Psychiatry, Henry Ford Medical Centers, Detroit, Michigan.

Address reprint requests to: Mark A. Lumley, PhD, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, 71 West Warren Ave., Detroit, MI 48202. Email: mlumley{at}sun.science.wayne.edu

OBJECTIVE: This study examined associations between alexithymia and objective characteristics of sleep (latencies, stages, and amount and patterning of REM sleep) that may contribute to subjective reports of poor sleep quality and impaired dream recall among alexithymic people.

METHODS: Fifty healthy, normally sleeping adults from the community completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and slept uninterrupted for one night in the laboratory while polysomnography was conducted. Various measures of sleep latency, sleep stages, and REM sleep–related variables were obtained, and analyses correlated these sleep measures with alexithymia, controlling for age, sex, and level of depressed affect.

RESULTS: Higher alexithymia scores were significantly related to increased stage 1 (light) sleep and decreased stage 3/4 (deep) sleep. Alexithymia was unrelated to overall sleep efficiency or percentage of stage 2 sleep. Alexithymia was related to more frequent REM episodes and more stage 1 sleep during and immediately after REM episodes but was unrelated to the absolute amount of REM sleep. Alexithymia was also related to an earlier onset of the first REM episode.

CONCLUSIONS: Alexithymia is associated with more light sleep and less deep sleep, which may contribute to subjective reports of poor sleep and increased sleepiness, fatigue, and somatic symptoms. Although alexithymia is not associated with an overall reduction of REM sleep, the increased frequency of episodes of REM that are interrupted and followed by light sleep rather than complete awakenings may contribute to limited dream recall.

Key Words: alexithymia • emotional awareness • sleep • dreams • polysomnography.

Abbreviations: CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; DDF = difficulty describing feelings; DIF = difficulty identifying feelings; EOT = externally oriented thinking; REM = rapid eye movement; TAS-20 = 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale.

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