Poor sleep the night before an experimental stress task is associated with reduced cortisol reactivity in healthy women [An article from: Biological Psychology]

This digital document is a journal article from Biological Psychology, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Sleep disruption is a growing problem that may have serious health effects. As stress-induced increases in cortisol are thought to be a key adaptive process it is important to examine how this response is affected by sleep. The current study investigated the association of four sleep parameters (objective/subjectively measured sleep quality and quantity) and subsequent salivary cortisol reactivity (maximal change from baseline) to an experimental stressor in 53 healthy women. Objective actigraphy monitoring and self-report diaries were used to assess sleep. Results revealed that individuals with lower objective sleep quality (wake percentage during sleep) had a blunted response to the experimental stressor. No associations were found between cortisol reactivity and actigraphy-derived sleep quantity, or either of the self-reported sleep variables. Results are discussed with regard to the possible adverse health effects that may result from poor sleep quality and a blunted cortisol response to stress.