# Longitudinal associations between Big Five personality and insomnia: evidence based on a 4-year perspective cohort study among community residents

## TL;DR

This study shows that personality traits like neuroticism and extraversion are linked to insomnia over four years in a rural Chinese population.

## Contribution

The study reveals bidirectional and one-way longitudinal associations between specific personality traits and insomnia.

## Key findings

- Neuroticism and extraversion showed bidirectional relationships with insomnia over four years.
- Conscientiousness and agreeableness had one-way longitudinal correlations with insomnia.
- Openness did not show a significant longitudinal correlation with insomnia.

## Abstract

While the association between personality traits and insomnia has been confirmed, the longitudinal relationship between them remains unclear.

This is a 4-year longitudinal cohort study conducted among rural community residents (N = 482) in Shandong Province, China.

This study found that neuroticism (β = 0.175, p < 0.001), extraversion (β = −0.146, p < 0.001), and conscientiousness (β = −0.168, p < 0.001) at baseline had statistically significant longitudinal associations with insomnia at follow-up. In addition, insomnia at baseline had statistically significant longitudinal correlations with neuroticism (β = 0.142, p < 0.01), extraversion (β = −0.209, p < 0.001), and agreeableness (β = −0.122, p < 0.01) at follow-up.

This study showed that both neuroticism and extraversion had a bidirectional relationship with insomnia. Insomnia had a one - way longitudinal correlation with agreeableness, and conscientiousness had a one - way longitudinal correlation with insomnia. The longitudinal correlation between openness and insomnia was not supported in this study.