Stress and Sleep Dynamics in Young Adults with Psychotic-Like Experiences Across Daily Life.

Individuals with PLEs reported poorer average sleep quality compared to controls.

• Study included 99 individuals with PLEs and 102 controls who completed experience sampling across 7 consecutive days.
• Differences in sleep quality between groups were attenuated after adjustment for negative affect.
• This suggests that negative affect may partially account for the relationship between PLEs and reduced sleep quality.

Individuals with PLEs showed shorter sleep duration compared to controls, and this difference was independent of negative affect.

• Sleep duration differences between PLEs and control groups were not attenuated after adjustment for negative affect, unlike sleep quality differences.
• This suggests reduced sleep duration may be 'a stable feature of PLEs independent of negative affect.'
• The study used experience sampling methodology over 7 consecutive days to capture daily-life dynamics.

Individuals with PLEs demonstrated greater variability in sleep quality compared to controls.

• Greater sleep quality variability was observed in the PLEs group across the 7-day experience sampling period.
• Differences in sleep quality variability were attenuated after adjustment for negative affect, similar to average sleep quality.
• Sleep duration variability differences between groups were not reported as attenuated by negative affect adjustment.

Sleep quality showed robust bidirectional within-person associations with PLEs, but sleep duration did not.

• Within the PLEs group, poorer sleep quality predicted subsequent PLEs and PLEs predicted subsequent poorer sleep quality.
• These associations were described as 'robust bidirectional within-person associations.'
• Sleep duration did not show the same bidirectional associations with PLEs within persons.
• These findings were derived from experience sampling data across 7 consecutive days, enabling dynamic within-person analysis.

Daily (momentary) stress fluctuations were not associated with next-morning sleep quality.

• Within-person daily stress fluctuations did not predict next-morning sleep outcomes in either PLEs or control groups.
• This null finding applied regardless of PLEs group status, indicating no moderation by PLEs.
• This finding contrasts with the hypothesis that individuals with PLEs would show stronger stress-related sleep disturbances.

Higher between-person stress exposure was associated with poorer average sleep quality, with no moderation by PLEs group status.

• Between-person differences in stress exposure (i.e., individuals who generally experienced more stress) were related to poorer average sleep quality.
• This association did not differ between individuals with PLEs and controls (no significant moderation by group).
• The distinction between within-person (daily fluctuations) and between-person (chronic exposure) stress effects was a key methodological feature.

Childhood trauma was not significantly associated with sleep outcomes in this study.

• Childhood trauma was assessed and tested as a predictor of sleep outcomes including quality and duration.
• No significant associations were found between childhood trauma and any sleep outcomes examined.
• This was contrary to the study's hypothesis that trauma-related alterations in sleep regulation would be observed.

The study used experience sampling methodology over 7 consecutive days to capture real-time daily-life sleep and stress dynamics in young adults.

• A total of 201 participants (99 with PLEs, 102 controls) completed the experience sampling protocol.
• The 7-day design enabled analysis of both within-person (momentary/daily) and between-person associations.
• The authors noted that prior evidence 'largely relies on retrospective assessments and average sleep parameters, limiting insight into daily-life dynamics.'
• Momentary stress, sleep quality, sleep duration, and PLEs were all assessed through the experience sampling method.