Research

Hormonal

High vulnerability to stress-related sleep disturbance (high FIRST scores) is associated with physiologic hyperarousal, evidenced by elevated sleep latency on the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT), even when excessive daytime sleepiness is excluded.

If you struggle with sleep, it might not just be about being tired. You may have a physiological 'hyperarousal' state where your body stays alert even when you want to sleep. This is a measurable trait, not just a habit. Managing stress and arousal levels is as important as sleep hygiene.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Moreover, these high-scoring individuals showed increased arousal as evidenced by an elevated sleep latency on the Multiple Sleep Latency Test compared to individuals with low FIRST scores.
Christopher L. Drake et al. · SLEEP · 2004

Why this rating

Robust measurement using MSLT and exclusion of confounding factors like excessive daytime sleepiness.

Source

Vulnerability to Stress-related Sleep Disturbance and Hyperarousal

Christopher L. Drake et al. · SLEEP · 2004

DOI 10.1093/sleep/27.2.285

cross_sectional · n=104Cited 464×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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