How Do Internal Mechanisms Shape the Trauma-Sleep Relationship?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating how internal cognitive and emotional mechanisms shape the trauma-sleep relationship in psychiatric inpatients.
IRAS ID
362503
Contact name
Jane Ireland
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Lancashire
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Associations between psychological distress and sleep are well established, with internal experiences often cited as reasons for nighttime awakenings (Goelema et al., 2018). However, few studies have explored the mechanisms that underpin this relationship, particularly among psychiatric populations. This study, therefore, aims to explore internal mechanisms, such as cognitions and emotions of psychosis inpatients, to better understand the trauma-sleep relationship.
Patients will be made up of male inpatients with a history of psychosis, based at a forensic mental health hospital (Ashworth High Secure Hospital) in the United Kingdom. Findings will be compared to a non-clinical sample gathered from the community using Prolific. Here, measures of psychosis proneness will be used to allow accurate comparisons.
Participants will be split by chronotype, using the Morning-Eveningness questionnaire, as this has been highlighted as a risk factor for poor sleep. Questionnaires will be used to gather data, and these will focus on aspects such as fear of sleep, pre-sleep arousal, nighttime cognitions and rumination, nightmare content, nighttime emotions, trauma experiences, intrusion symptoms, and sleep quality. Regression analyses and linear mixed models will then be used to answer the question ‘How do internal mechanisms shape the trauma-sleep relationship?’
It is hypothesised that:
- Psychosis inpatients will present with greater trauma-related sleep disturbances and intrusion symptoms than the community samples.
- Evening chronotype and psychosis proneness will be associated with increased nightmare frequency, pre-sleep arousal, and fear of sleep.There may be some theoretical implications, with findings possibly reframing the trauma-sleep relationship by suggesting that complex internal mechanisms (such as fear of sleep and pre-sleep arousal) mediate this relationship. The thesis may also highlight some vulnerability factors, such as evening chronotype, which may interact with trauma, shaping sleep outcomes. Identifying these may, in turn, help clinicians identify risk factors and provide early intervention.
REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0883
Date of REC Opinion
17 Dec 2025
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion