No nighttime I can own: The experience of insomnia expressed through poetry

Insomnia is a chronic sleep disorder associated with difficulty sleeping and a significant deleterious impact on daytime function and quality of life. This novel study investigates the experience of insomnia, and the impact and coping strategies expressed via the creative medium of poetry.

A total of 33 poems containing the word ‘insomnia’ were selected from The Poetry Foundation and analysed using poetic content analysis; a qualitative inductive technique that involved coding meaning units to the poetry, which were then categorised and agreed between the two authors.

The final agreed categories were: Coping Strategies and Mental Engagement, which reflected a range of standard and non-standard treatments and thoughts; Physical Experiences and Reactions, such as discomfort; Socio-Emotional Dynamics and Life Impact, such as emotional impact and relationships; Environment and Temporal Factors, including the sleeping area and house, and the passage of time; and Sleep, which included dreams and nightmares, and the lack thereof.

Themes broadly represented the biopsychosocial model, which then served as a framework for interpreting the study's findings. The study provided an interesting and novel approach to investigating the creative expression of insomnia, and could be further developed by soliciting poetry from contemporary poets to provide a more immediate and diverse range of experiences.