Anxiety Sensitivity is Associated with Frequency of Sleep Medication Use Above and Beyond Self-Reported Sleep Quality

Based on the personal and societal costs of long-term sleep medication use, it is important to understand factors that may play a role in use of medications to manage sleep. One such factor is fear of the consequences of anxiety-related sensations, or anxiety sensitivity. Participants in the current study included 205 unscreened adults who completed questionnaires including the well-established Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Results from multiple linear regressions suggested sleep medication use was related to levels of anxiety sensitivity, specifically to the physical and social concerns factors. Importantly, this finding holds above and beyond the variance attributed to sex, negative affect, anxious arousal, and subjective sleep quality. These findings provide a first-step toward understanding links between anxiety sensitivity and use of medications to manage sleep. Results are discussed in relation to research and clinical implications.