72 Somatization and Headaches in people with insomnia during the COVID-19 Pandemic: the benefit of exercise

Objective: Stress is well known to increase the severity of somatization and insomnia. A recent major stressor that could have influenced the severity of these presentations was world-wide COVID-19 Pandemic. Somatization is the physical expression of stress and emotional distress that can manifest i...

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Published in:Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 2023-11, Vol.29 (s1), p.581-582
Main Authors: Henderson-Arredondo, Kymberly, Jankowski, Samantha, Suckow, Emmett, Desai, Shivani, Reich-Fuehrer, Melissa, Hildebrand, Lindsey, Killgore, William D.S.
Format: Article
Language:eng
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Summary:Objective: Stress is well known to increase the severity of somatization and insomnia. A recent major stressor that could have influenced the severity of these presentations was world-wide COVID-19 Pandemic. Somatization is the physical expression of stress and emotional distress that can manifest itself throughout various corporal domains and can be a comorbidity to insomnia. Headaches represent some of the most common complaints associated with brain injuries and neurological disorders but are common in somaticized disorders as well. In large survey study we examined whether exercise was associated with severity of somatization and headaches. We hypothesized that both healthy individuals and those with insomnia who exercised during the pandemic would report less severe somatic symptoms and headaches than those who did not. Participants and Methods: A large survey was sent out to 4,073 individuals to measure their experience in numerous domains during the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey included a short symptom questionnaire used to measure somatization and the Insomnia Scale Index to measure insomnia. These questionnaires were administered along with a “yes or no” question on whether the participants exercised regularly in that period. A univariate ANOVA was performed to analyze the data to determine if exercise during the pandemic was beneficial in the reduction of somatic symptoms and headache severity. Furthermore, these tests were run to determine if the effect was greater on those with insomnia. Results: The effect of insomnia and exercise on total somatic symptoms were significant at F(1, 3445)=650.5, p
ISSN:1355-6177
1469-7661