LAUSR

Significance Arousals represent a fundamental property of the nervous system that enables organisms to perceive and properly respond to internal and external challenges. Arousal mechanisms are evident during wakefulness hours to mitigate external stressors and also, during sleep periods. Among the questions that have remained elusive are when and how central and peripheral arousals are coordinated or integrated. This study evaluated the temporal correlation between central and peripheral arousals. Poor sleepers exhibit a heightened arousal phenotype, and the communication between central and peripheral arousal mechanisms is inherently different from that of good sleepers. The etiology of insomnia remains poorly understood, but screening for peripheral arousal events may be a valuable tool in the assessment and diagnosis of poor sleeping.