Subjective Sleep Quality and Anxious and Fearful Responding to Bodily Arousal among Children and Adolescents

Poor sleep quality commonly co-occurs with anxiety among youth. However, little research has examined linkages between sleep quality and factors thought to underlie panic vulnerability. This study tested the association between self-reported sleep quality and anxiety and fear reported during panic-relevant abrupt increases in bodily arousal elicited by a laboratory-based biological challenge procedure among community-recruited adolescents (n = 88; Mage = 14.00 years; SD = 2.37). As predicted, both anxiety and fear reported during a well-established 3-min voluntary hyperventilation procedure were significantly positively associated with self-reported sleep quality, after controlling for age, gender, and disease concerns sub-facet of anxiety sensitivity. Findings are discussed in terms of additional research needed to better understand why sleep quality and anxiety reported during elevated bodily arousal are related among youth.