This project addresses two important concepts that have not been addressed in insomnia: (1)Response reactivity to a stressful challenge and (2) The ability to habituate to repeated exposure of such challenge. These two concepts may serve as critical indicators of disease risk in the long term. To investigate how reactivity and the habituation differs between insomnia sufferers and healthy controls, the inflammatory, autonomic, and HPA response magnitude after repeated exposure to a stressful challenge, i.e., the cold pressor test.
