The Journal of Sleep Research has published a study showing that researchers have found that insomnia and the level of emotional distress in a person does not significantly affect the occurrence of sleep bruxism — a condition characterized by teeth grinding or clenching during sleep. Contrary to previous beliefs, the present study, which involved a thorough sleep analysis using polysomnography, indicates that individuals with insomnia are no more likely to experience sleep bruxism than those without sleep disorders, regardless of their stress levels.
Sleep bruxism has long been a subject of interest among sleep researchers due to its potential to cause dental damage and affect sleep quality. Prior studies have suggested a link between sleep bruxism and various factors — including stress and sleep disorders like insomnia.
Insomnia, affecting about 10% of the population, is namely associated with difficulties in falling asleep, maintaining sleep, and experiencing non-restorative sleep, which could potentially either exacerbate or be affected by sleep bruxism. However, these earlier investigations may not have provided an accurate picture of sleep bruxism’s occurrence and its association with insomnia.
The motivation behind the present study was to explore the relationship between sleep bruxism and insomnia with a more objective lens — particularly focusing on whether the stress and distress associated with insomnia could influence the prevalence of sleep bruxism. Researchers aimed to provide clearer insights that could aid in the clinical management of sleep bruxism, especially among patients with insomnia, by employing polysomnography — a sleep study that measures brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing, and leg and eye movements throughout the night.
To conduct their investigation, the team enlisted 86 participants, split between 44 with insomnia and 42 without sleep complaints. All were recruited through advertisements and averaged an age of 47 for females and 51 for males.
Participants with insomnia were categorized based on their levels of distress. Using polysomnography over two nights, researchers meticulously recorded each participant’s sleep architecture and instances of rhythmic masticatory muscle activity (RMMA) — the technical term for the jaw muscle movements indicative of sleep bruxism. This approach allowed the researchers to objectively measure and compare the presence and severity of sleep bruxism among the different groups.
The findings were quite revealing: there was no significant difference in the occurrence of RMMA between individuals with and without insomnia, nor was there a notable difference between insomnia sufferers with varying levels of distress. This suggests that, contrary to previous assumptions, insomnia and associated emotional distress do not have a direct impact on sleep bruxism’s prevalence.
In essence, the study challenges the notion that insomnia exacerbates or is linked to increased rates of teeth grinding during sleep, offering a new perspective on the relationship between these common sleep issues.
The study’s authors acknowledge certain limitations that should be considered when interpreting the results. For instance, the participant selection process and the unequal ratio of female to male participants might limit the generalizability of the findings to the entire population.
Additionally, the study’s secondary analysis nature means it relies on previously collected data, which may not cover all relevant aspects of sleep bruxism and insomnia. Regardless, this study is deeply useful in how it emphasizes the complexity of sleep bruxism’s etiology and its relation to insomnia and stress.
Boyuan Kuang, Ghizlane Aarab, Yishul Wei, Tessa Blanken, Frank Lobbezoo, Eus J. W. Van Someren, Jennifer Ramautar, and Rick Wassing authored this study, published as “Associations between signs of sleep bruxism and insomnia: A polysomnographic study.” They research and publish from the University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Taikang Bybo Dental, the University of Sydney, and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.