Insomnia symptoms and well-being: Longitudinal follow-up.

OBJECTIVE Most Americans have occasional problems with symptoms of insomnia. Insomnia symptoms have been linked to psychological distress, but few studies have examined the relationship between insomnia symptoms and well-being. The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship between insomnia symptoms reported in a 10-year longitudinal study and the dimensions of subjective well-being and eudaimonic well-being, adjusting for the potential confounds of age, gender, and comorbid physical illness. METHOD The data for the present study came from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States. Participants were 4,014 community dwelling adults (M age = 56.27 years, SD = 12.4; 55.4% female; 91.6% White). RESULTS After adjusting for demographic characteristics and a wide range of chronic physical health conditions, we found that insomnia symptoms had a significant relationship with both subjective and eudaimonic well-being. Furthermore, the report of insomnia symptoms at 2 time points 10 years apart was found to have an additional impact on subjective and eudaimonic well-being. CONCLUSIONS Results of this study suggest that insomnia symptoms have a strong relationship to individuals enjoying life and perceiving that one has a meaningful life. In addition, these data suggest that the experience of recurrent insomnia symptoms at 2 time points is particularly detrimental to one's well-being.