This cross-sectional study examined whether brooding rumination and anxiety sensitivity moderate (amplify) the link between loneliness and sleep quality/duration in 81 college-aged adults — a group with elevated rates of both loneliness and sleep disruption.
Loneliness was associated with poor sleep quality but not sleep duration. Brooding rumination significantly moderated this relationship: the loneliness–poor sleep quality link was evident only in individuals with higher brooding levels, and this was not explained by depression. Anxiety sensitivity did not significantly moderate the loneliness–sleep association.
- Small sample (n=81) of college students limits generalizability to other age groups. - Cross-sectional design prevents causal or feed-forward conclusions. - Sleep was self-reported, not objectively measured (e.g., actigraphy or polysomnography).
In lonely patients with poor sleep, screening for and targeting brooding rumination — a modifiable factor addressable with CBT-based interventions — may help improve sleep quality. Anxiety sensitivity did not emerge as a significant amplifier in this sample and warrants further study.
