Perceived insomnia, life-events and self-transcendence in middle and older adults

Abstract

Perceived insomnia, significant life events and self-transcendence were investigated in 15 individuals who ranged in age from 46 to 80. Participants were interviewed over the telephone in effort to assess their occurrence and severity of three types of insomnia as well as the variables of self-transcendence and occurrence of significant life events. Results indicated that 5 (33%) experienced the most severe level of insomnia that includes difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep and early morning awakening. Three types of significant life events were reported by the majority of respondents: health events, career and family problems were identified as occurring during the onset of insomnia. There was no significant relationship between selftranscendence and insomnia, yet additional analysis identified some significant positive relations between Self-Transcendence Scale items and types of insomnia. No demographic variables were associated with severity to any degree of significance, yet males had higher frequency of severity than females. Implications for better understanding and treating insomnia in adults are discussed.