The Relationship between Sleep Disorders, Level of Psychological Stress and State-Trait Anxiety in Patients with Anxiety Disorders

Introduction/Aim. There is a cause-and-effect relationship between stress, sleep disorders and emotional brain function. Insufficient quality and duration of sleep can trigger or exacerbate anxiety in an individual. The study aims to assess the scores for sleep disorders and the level of stress depending on typological features of state and trait anxiety in patients with anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances, as well as to establish the relationships between them. Methods. Ninety-one patients with anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances, aged between 21 and 59 years, were examined. The following methods were used to access the levels of psychological stress, state/trait anxiety and sleep disorders: the Integrative Anxiety Test, PSM-25 questionnaire, PSQI, ISI and ESS. Results. The highest number of correlations between the state anxiety components and the level of stress (p < 0.01), severity of insomnia, global score, sleep latency and duration measured by the PSQI was established (p < 0.05). As for the trait anxiety, it correlated significantly with the level of stress (p < 0.01), PSQI global score, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and sleep latency (p < 0.05). Conclusion. A significant correlation was established between the state/trait anxiety and the level of stress, as well as the scores on the PSQI, ISI, ESS scales within the cohort of patients with anxiety disorders. The study on the relationship between the scores of the level of stress, sleep disorders, and state/trait anxiety emphasizes the importance of considering the findings in the implementation of comprehensive personalized therapy and psychotherapy for the abovementioned cohort of patients.