On the relationship between EEG spectral analysis and pre‐sleep cognitive arousal in insomnia disorder: towards an integrated model of cognitive and cortical arousal

Summary According to the hyperarousal model, insomnia is characterised by increased arousal in the cortical, cognitive, and physiological domains. However, the interaction between these arousal domains is poorly understood. The present observational case–control study aimed to investigate cortical arousal during the night, pre‐sleep cognitive arousal and the relationship between these two domains. A total of 109 patients with insomnia disorder (ID) and 109 age‐and gender matched healthy controls were investigated on two sleep laboratory nights. Electroencephalographic (EEG) spectral power during non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) and REM sleep was analysed as a measure of cortical arousal. In addition, patients completed the Pre‐Sleep Arousal Scale (PSAS), which consists of two subscales, one for cognitive arousal (PSAS‐CA) and one for self‐reported somatic arousal (PSAS‐SA). The relationship between the subscale scores and EEG spectral power was calculated by multi‐ and univariate analyses of variance. During NREM and REM sleep, patients with ID showed significantly increased spectral power in the EEG gamma band. In addition, patients with ID showed significantly increased scores on both subscales of the PSAS. The PSAS‐CA score was significantly associated with increased NREM and REM gamma power, whereas PSAS‐SA was associated with decreases in NREM and REM gamma power. Consistent with our hypothesis, patients with ID showed increased cortical and cognitive arousal. Moreover, there was an association between these two arousal domains, which may indicate that cortical arousal during the night is (at least in part) elicited by pre‐sleep worry and rumination.