People at risk of hoarding disorder may have serious complaints about sleep

A new study suggests that those at risk of hoarding disorder may have serious complaints about sleep.

Results show that participants at risk of hoarding disorder scored significantly higher on the Sleep Habits Survey (SH) and on three sub-scales of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), including sleep latency; sleep disturbances and daytime disturbances.

"Hoarders typically have problems with decision making and executive function; poor sleep is known to compromise cognition generally, so if hoarders have cluttered/unusable bedrooms (and less comfortable, functional beds), any existing risk for cognitive dysfunction, depression and stress may increase as sleep quality worsens," said lead author Pamela Thacher, assistant professor of psychology at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.

The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented Monday, June 8, in Seattle, Washington, at SLEEP 2015, the 29th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

The study group comprised a sample of respondents from Amazon's Mechanical Turk website. Their advertisement asked for those interested in hoarding, sleep, or clutter, whether or not they had problems with these areas. Questionnaires included: Demographics; PSQI; Clutter and Hoarding Rating Scale (CHRS) and SH.

The study was the focus of Thacher's honor student last year, second author, Alexis Reinheimer, a psychology major at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.

Abstract Title: Sleep Quality and Sleep Disturbance in Those at Risk for Hoarding Disorder Abstract ID: 0920 Presentation Date: Monday, June 8 Presentation Type: Poster 302 Presentation Time: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

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The SLEEP 2015 abstract supplement is available at http://journalsleep.org/ViewAbstractSupplement.aspx.

For a copy of the abstract or to arrange an interview with the study author or an AASM spokesperson, please contact AASM Communications Coordinator Lynn Celmer at 630-737-9700, ext. 9364, or lcelmer@aasmnet.org.

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About SLEEP 2015

More than 5,000 sleep medicine physicians and sleep scientists will gather at SLEEP 2015, the 29th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS), which will be held June 6-10 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. The scientific program will include about 1,200 research abstract presentations. The APSS is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

About the American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Established in 1975, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) improves sleep health and promotes high quality patient centered care through advocacy, education, strategic research, and practice standards. With nearly 10,000 members, the AASM is the largest professional membership society for physicians, scientists and other health care providers dedicated to sleep medicine.