Aly Suh

• Ph.D.
• Professor (Associate) at Sungshin Women's University

This is a population-based longitudinal study that followed insomnia symptoms over a 6-year period in non-depressed individuals. The purpose of the study was to (1) investigate the longitudinal course of depression based on number of insomnia episodes; and (2) describe longitudinal associations between insomnia and depression, and insomnia and suic...

This study explored cognitive predictors of multiple symptoms of insomnia (difficulty with sleep initiation, maintenance, and early morning awakenings) among a sample of individuals seeking cognitive-behavior therapy for insomnia. Participants consisted of 146 clinical patients with insomnia of which 67 (45.89%) were classified as Single Symptoms s...

Objectives Our study had three goals: (1) to investigate the longitudinal course of insomnia symptoms over 4 years (3 time points) by analyzing the trajectory of insomnia symptoms for all participants, (2) to compare persistent insomnia symptom to nonpersistent insomnia symptom groups on mental health and quality of life (QoL), and (3) to conduct e...

Study objectives: Recent studies have suggested that structural abnormalities in insomnia may be linked with alterations in the default-mode network (DMN). This study compared cortical thickness and structural connectivity linked to the DMN in patients with persistent insomnia (PI) and good sleepers (GS). Methods: The current study used a clinic...

Study objectives: Suicide is a serious public health problem, and suicide rates are particularly high in South Korea. Insomnia has been identified as a risk factor for suicidal ideation; however, little is known about the mechanisms accounting for this relationship in this population. Based on the premise that insomnia can be lonely (e.g., being a...

Self-report questionnaires play a crucial role in healthcare for assessing disease risks, yet their extensive length can be burdensome for respondents, potentially compromising data quality. To address this, machine learning-based shortened questionnaires have been developed. While these questionnaires possess high levels of accuracy, their practic...

The aims of this study were to explore the influence of shift working nursing professionals’ psychological inflexibility on their level of insomnia. Additionally, we investigated the mediation effect of depression and sleep-related cognitions on this association. An online survey was conducted among 202 nursing professionals at Asan Medical Center...

Associations between desire to be alone and infant bedtime behaviors and bedtime procrastination in new parents

The duration of sleep data collection from actigraphy is often influenced by practical factors (e.g. workdays versus non‐workdays), but the impact of the variation of duration on outcome measures of interest has not been well explored. This study investigates the effect of the duration of actigraphy measurement on non‐parametric measures of 24‐hr s...

Background and purpose: The Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) is widely used for assessing current level of sleepiness, but it has not been validated in South Korea. This study aimed to validate the KSS using the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS), polysomnography (PSG), and electroencephalography (EEG). Methods: The sample consisted of 27 adult pa...

Introduction Firefighters experience irregular sleep patterns and sleep disturbance due to shift work. Online cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi) can be an accessible and effective treatment when considering the work environment of firefighters. The purpose of this field study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an online sleep interv...

Objective Sleep problems constitute a common and heterogeneous complaint in pediatric palliative care (PPC), where they often contribute to disease morbidity and cause additional distress to children and adolescents and their families already facing the burden of life-threatening and life-limiting conditions. Despite the significant impact of slee...

Introduction Sleep diaries are the gold-standard measure of self-reported sleep parameters; however, data utility is contingent upon accurate data entry and clarity of standardized diary terminology/calculations between participants and researchers. Informed by the RESTING study, an effectiveness-implementation RCT of cognitive-behavioral therapy f...

Study objectives: Supportive co-parenting between couples has been shown to have positive effects on the dyadic relationship, child development, and parental and child sleep. This study aimed to investigate the association between paternal involvement in nighttime childcare and child and maternal sleep, while exploring relationship satisfaction, a...

Background and Objective Bedtime procrastination, defined as the behavior of going to bed later than intended in the absence of external factors, has been associated with insomnia and emotion regulation. The present study aimed to explore the moderating effect of emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between insomnia severity and bedtim...

Objectives: One of the causes of infant sleep problems is excessive parental intervention at bedtime based on parental dysfunctional beliefs about infant sleep, which varies depending on the culture. This study aimed to identify the content of dysfunctional beliefs related to infant sleep problems among Korean mothers.Methods: Participants were 10...

Background Using reliable measurement tools is becoming increasingly important as the prevalence of obesity among children increases in Korea. The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire for Children (DEBQ-C) measures three eating behaviors associated with overeating. This study aims to validate the DEBQ-C for use among Korean children and adolescents...

Objectives: Co-sleeping is defined as caregivers and infants sleeping in the same place or room. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between co-sleeping, infant sleep, and parental misperceptions about infant sleep.Methods: The participants were 832 English-speaking caregivers. Most of the sample comprised of mothers (70.79%)....

Background: Previous studies have suggested links between anxiety response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and depression symptoms in general population. However, a symptom-level investigation has not been reported. This study aimed to use network analysis to identify central symptoms and bridge symptoms that link COVID-19 anxiety and depressi...

Study objectives: Bedtime Procrastination (BP) is defined as the behavior of going to bed later than intended, without external reasons. This study is a randomized controlled trial aiming to establish efficacy of a behavioral intervention to decrease BP in a non-clinical sample. Method: This was an open-label trial that was conducted in sixty pa...

Study objectives: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI) during the postpartum period, as part of a larger randomized controlled trial of CBTI on perinatal insomnia. Methods: 179 women of 18 to 30 gestational weeks with insomnia disorder were randomized to CBTI or an active control (CTRL)...

Introduction: Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is recommended as the first-line treatment for insomnia, but low accessibility and relatively high cost limits the dissemination of the treatment. Several forms of digital CBT-I have been developed to increase the accessibility and shown to be effective; however, the treatment effect...

Background Previous studies have suggested that parental cognitions about child's sleep may be an important factor underlying pediatric sleep problems. The current study aimed to (a) develop an assessment tool measuring parental understanding and misperceptions about baby's sleep (PUMBA‐Q); (b) validate the questionnaire using self‐report and objec...

The present study investigated the influence and perspective of esports coaches and support staff on the sleep habits of esports athletes competing at professional and semiprofessional levels. Eighty-four esports coaches and support staff from 19 countries completed an online questionnaire. The first section obtained demographic information. The se...

We aimed to validate a Korean version of the Metacognitions Questionnaire-Insomnia (MCQ-I) and develop two shortened versions of the MCQ-I by applying the Random Forest (RF) algorithm. A total of 310 participants responded through an online survey, during April 3e6, 2021, which included rating scales such as the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Pitts...

Everyday experience suggests that sleep and affect are closely linked, with daytime affect influencing how we sleep, and sleep influencing subsequent affect. Yet empirical evidence for this bidirectional relationship between sleep and affect in non-clinical adult samples remains mixed, which may be due to heterogeneity in both construct definitions...

Everyday experience suggests that sleep and affect are closely linked, with daytime affect influencing how we sleep, and sleep influencing subsequent affect. Yet empirical evidence for this bidirectional relationship between sleep and affect in non-clinical adult samples remains mixed, which may be due to heterogeneity in both construct definitions...

Introduction: Sleep reactivity is the trait-like degree to which stress disrupts sleep, resulting in difficulty falling and staying asleep. Although previous studies have suggested that individuals who have high sleep reactivity may be resistant to cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) effects, there have been no studies that have inve...

Insomnia is a common disease that negatively affects patients both mentally and physically. While insomnia disorder is mainly characterized by hyperarousal, a few studies that have directly intervened with cortical arousal. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of a neurofeedback protocol for reducing cortical arousal on insomnia compa...

Purpose We conducted an exploratory study to identify risk factors of dropout in an 8-week e-mail-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (REFRESH) to improve sleep among university students with insomnia symptoms. Methods University and graduate students in Hong Kong and Korea who scored higher than 10 on the Insomnia Severity Index parti...

This study examined whether cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for insomnia (CBT-I) improved insomnia severity, by changing sleep-related mediating factors. It also examined whether an improvement in insomnia led to enhanced mental health. This study was a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of e-mail-delivered CBT-I for young adult...

Objective This study examined the psychometric properties of the French–Canadian version of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6) scale for assessing the anxiety response to the viral epidemic among the general population in Quebec, Canada. Methods A total of 590 participants responded to a confidential online survey between S...

This study evaluated a brief sleep intervention designed to improve the sleep, mood, and cognitive performance of professional electronic sports (esports) athletes from three major esports regions (i.e., Asia, North America, and Oceania). Fifty-six esports athletes from South Korea (N = 34), the United States (N = 7), and Australia (N = 15) complet...

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare the efficacy of group-based therapy (GT) and email-delivered self-help (ESH) cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) with the wait-list (WL) control group in youths. Methods: The study involved an assessor-blind, parallel group randomized controlled trial in youths meeting the diagnostic...

SAVE-6 was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms in response to viral epidemic for the general population / Stress et Anxiété face à une épidémie virale - 6 items (SAVE-6) pour le personnel soignant (French-Canadian version: Jean-Philippe Gouin, Concordia University)

Background This study aimed to examine whether the extended use of a variety of digital screen devices was associated with lower economic status and other environmental factors among Korean elementary school children and their caregivers during school closures precipitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods A total of 217...

Introduction: Self-efficacy signifies an individual's belief in their own ability to perform the actions required to achieve a particular performance. In this study, we used an online survey to assess the mediation effect of resilience and self-efficacy on the overall psychological well-being of Lebanese people during the crises of the COVID-19 pan...

Background and ObjectiveaaThe aim of this study is to explore the usefulness of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemic-3 items (SAVE-3) scale as a tool for assessing work-related stress in healthcare workers. MethodsaaThere were 389 participants and all remained anonymous. The SAVE-9, the Patient Health Questionnaire-4, the Maslach Burnout Invent...

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in psychological distress, burnout, and workloads among public school teachers. This study aimed to explore the teachers' experiences regarding the impact of the pandemic on their mental health and burnout. Nine teachers who were currently working in public schools in Seoul, South korea were invited...

Objectives: Bedtime procrastination (BP) is defined as the behavior of voluntarily postponing bedtime without having external reasons for doing so. According to previous studies, people with reduced use of active emotion regulation strategies may use BP to cope with negative emotions. However, research about the relationship among active emotional...

Objective: This study sought to identify psychosocial predictors of trajectories of adherence to physical distancing alongside changes in public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A three-time point longitudinal survey during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Participants (N = 1003) completed self-report meas...

This study examined the effects of an e-mail-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), validated in Western countries, on insomnia severity, anxiety, and depression in young adults with insomnia in Eastern countries, particularly Japan. This prospective parallel-group randomized clinical trial included college students with Insom...

SAVE-6 was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms in response to viral epidemic for the general population / Escala de Estrés y Ansiedad ante las Epidemias Virales - 6 Ítems (SAVE-6) para población general (Peruvian Spanish version: André Lapeyre-Rivera, Nair Javier-Murillo, Francisco...

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, has had a major psychological impact on healthcare workers. However, very few scales are available to specifically assess work-related stress and anxiety in healthcare workers responding to a viral epidemic. This study developed a new assessment tool, the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9...

SAVE-9 was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms and work-related stress in response to viral epidemic for front-line Healthcare workers / संक्रामक महामारी के लिए तनाव एवं व्यग्रता / चिंता : स्वास्थ्य कर्मियों के लिए 9 वस्तु (SAVE-9) (Hindi version: Sangeeta Bhatia, Neera Pant / Depa...

Background The COVID-19 outbreak had a severe impact on health care workers' psychological health. It is important to establish a process for psychological assessment and intervention for health care workers during epidemics. Objective We investigated risk factors associated with psychological impacts for each health care worker group, to help opti...

Objective: This study aimed to compare the adaptability of the adapted version of Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9 (SAVE-9) for public workers and the SAVE-6 scale and to validate them among public workers who are on the frontline of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: A total of 300 public workers responded to the anonymous onli...

Objectives: In the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, schoolteachers experience stress from addressing students or performing school tasks that may result in burnout. This study aimed to observe whether teachers' stress and anxiety due to the pandemic can influence their depression or psychological well-being and examine whether their...

Objectives: Many individuals around the world are suffering from psychological distress due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The aim of this study is to explore the validity and reliability of the English version of Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 (SAVE-6), which measures the anxiety response of the general population to the viral epidemic. Method...

SAVE-9 was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms and work-related stress in response to viral epidemic for front-line Healthcare workers / Tekanan dan Kegelisahan terhadap Viral Epidemik - 9 item (SAVE-9) terhadap Staf Kesihatan (Malay version: Sharon Sharmini R Mohan, Nicholas Tze P...

Introduction: Bedtime Procrastination (BP) is defined as the behavior of going to bed later than intended, without having external reasons for doing so. Previous studies have shown that BP has a negative effect on sleep and health, emphasizing the need to develop interventions to decrease BP. This intervention development study is a proof-of-conce...

Background This study explored the clinical variables related to public workers' stress and anxiety regarding the viral epidemic, and the mediating effect of resilience on the relationship between their depression and anxiety in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods A total of 938 public workers answered anonymous quest...

SAVE-9 was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms and work-related stress in response to viral epidemic for front-line Healthcare workers / Escala de Estresse e Ansiedade frente a Epidemias Virais (SAVE-9) para trabalhadores da saúde (Brazilian Portuguese version: Washington Allysson...

SAVE-9 was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms and work-related stress in response to viral epidemic for front-line Healthcare workers / ভাইরাল মহামারীতে চাপ এবং উদ্বেগ - স্বাস্থ্যসেবা কর্মীদের জন্য ৯ টি প্রশ্ন (SAVE-9) (Bangla version: Oli Ahmed, University of Chittagong / Kazi Nu...

This study aimed to validate the schoolteachers' version of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-9 (SAVE-9) scale. This scale assessed the work-related stress and anxiety response of schoolteachers to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 400 schoolteachers participated in an online survey between March 4 and 15, 2021. The survey questionnaire inc...

SAVE-9 for schoolteachers was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms and work-related stress in response to viral epidemic for schoolteachers (바이러스 감염병에 대한 업무 스트레스 및 불안반응 척도 - 교사용) / English version of SAVE-9 by Aly Sooyeon Suh, Sungshin Women's University, Schoolteacher’s version: Ji...

Objective This study aimed to validate the Japanese version of the 9-item Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics scale (SAVE-9) and the relationships among the stress related to viral epidemics, insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Patients/Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted online. In total, 1000 healthcare workers (57...

This study explored the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6) scale for assessing people's anxiety in response to the viral epidemic in Lebanon. The 406 participants responded voluntarily to the online survey that included the SAVE-6, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and P...

The general population has reported experiencing anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the validity and utility of the Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6) scale for measuring the anxiety response of the general population to the viral epidemic. About 1,009 respondents participated in an online survey. Of these...

Background: In this study, we aimed to explore the attitude of medical students toward their role and social accountability in this pandemic era. An online survey was developed to elicit information on (1) the role of medical students in the pandemic era; (2) Medical education in the “new normal,” and (3) the impact of COVID-19 on medical students....

Introduction Asian cultures, including Korea, are known to have a higher proportion of parent-child co-sleeping than Western cultures. While recent studies have shown that bed-sharing increases the mother’s depression and causes sleep problems for children, there has never been a study in Asia on the sleep problems of parents and children caused by...

Introduction As dropout from treatment potentially diminishes its therapeutic effect and poses clinical concern, it is important to find out which characteristics of participants are suitable for online-based treatment. Therefore, we aimed to identify factors that predicted a dropout in the e-mail based cognitive behavioral therapy (REFRESH) develo...

Introduction Bedtime Procrastination (BP) is defined as the behavior of going to bed later than intended, despite the absence of external factors. Bedtime procrastination is also prevalent among insomnia patients, and is associated with various sleep problems. Recent studies suggest emotional regulation as a mechanism of the procrastination behavio...

Introduction Bedtime Procrastination (BP) is defined as the behavior of voluntarily delaying going to bed, without having external reasons for doing so. Recent research on procrastination behavior suggests that when negative emotions are elevated, procrastination behaviors can be triggered in order to find pleasure to avoid and alleviate them. Proc...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have reported experiencing anxiety in response to the viral epidemic. This study aimed to explore the validity and usefulness of the Stress and Anxiety to the Viral Epidemic-6 items (SAVE-6) scale for measuring the anxiety response to the viral epidemic of the general population. A total of 1,009 respondents par...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have reported experiencing anxiety in response to the viral epidemic. This study aimed to explore the validity and usefulness of the Stress and Anxiety to the Viral Epidemic-6 items (SAVE-6) scale for measuring the anxiety response to the viral epidemic of the general population. A total of 1,009 respondents par...

SAVE-3 was extracted from SAVE-9 (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) for briefly assessing healthcare workers' work-related stress associated with the viral epidemic (바이러스 감염병에 대한 의료진의 업무 스트레스 평가용) / English version of SAVE-6 was initially translated by Eunsung Lee, and edited/confirmed by Aly Sooyeon Suh, Sungshin Wom...

Objective: As smartphone use is becoming more common, the age of initial exposure to devices is becoming younger. Young children's screen use is influenced by various factors; it is more directly dependent on family environment than school-aged children. Our study aimed to examine the effect of mother's smartphone addition on their child's smartph...

SAVE-9 was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms and work-related stress in response to viral epidemic for front-line Healthcare workers / Gajiya da kuma tashin hankali wad'anda suke alak'a da cututtukan da suka danganci annoba, na ma'aikatan kiwon lafiya (SAVE-9) (Hausa version: Uma...

Esports is becoming increasingly professionalized, yet research on performance management is remarkably lacking. The present study aimed to investigate the sleep and mood of professional esports athletes. Participants were 17 professional esports athletes from South Korea (N = 8), Australia (N = 4), and the United States (N = 5) who played first pe...

SAVE-9 was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms and work-related stress in response to viral epidemic for front-line Healthcare workers / Stresi dhe Ankthi gjatë Epidemisë Virale - 9 pyetje (SAVE-9) për punonjësit e shëndetësisë (Albanian version: Elona Dashi, MD , Enita Metaj, MD,...

Insomnia is a common disorder characterized by chronic difficulties with sleep initiation and/or sleep maintenance accompanied by daytime dysfunction. The clinical interview is the primary tool for diagnosing insomnia. Secondary tools, such as sleep diaries and self-report questionnaires can be used as a supplement to the clinical interview to prov...

Background and Objective Although sleep is a potentially important determinant of performance in esports, there have been no published data on the sleep behavior of professional esports athletes. The aim of this study is to investigate sleep aspects and sleep risk factors in esports athletes. Methods Thirty-four esports athletes were compared with...

SAVE-9 was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms and work-related stress in response to viral epidemic for front-line Healthcare workers / القلق والضغوط من الأوبئة الفیروسیة – مقیاس من 9 عناصر للعاملین في مجال الرعایة الصحیة (Arabic version: Ahmad N. AlHadi, Ali AlShaqrawi, Mohammed...

Background Sleep technicians are at high risk of shift work sleep disorders. We therefore aimed to identify the optimal shift system for sleep technicians. Methods We performed a nationwide survey of the work schedules, health and quality of life of sleep technicians using e-mail questionnaires including the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Epworth...

Objectives Nightmares are extremely unpleasant and vivid recurring dreams that are accompanied with awakening during sleep. However, earlier studies were mostly conducted with children and adults, with very few studies on nightmares in older adults. This population-based study aims to investigate the prevalence of nightmares and its associated fact...

SAVE-9 was developed (by Yong-Wook Shin & Seockhoon Chung, ASAN Medical Center, KOREA) to measure anxiety symptoms and work-related stress in response to viral epidemic for front-line Healthcare workers / Stress e Ansiedade na epidemia vírica - 9 itens (SAVE-9) para técnicos de saúde (Portuguese version was done by Joao Marques-Teixeira, MD, Psycho...

Background: Firefighters are vulnerable to irregular sleep patterns and sleep disturbance due to work characteristics such as shift work and frequent dispatch. However, there are few studies investigating intervention targeting sleep for firefighters. This preliminary study aimed to develop and test a sleep intervention, namely FIT-IN (Firefighter'...

This study investigated the usefulness of the six-item Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics (SAVE-6) scale and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) as tools to assess anxiety related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in cancer patients. A total of 221 patients with cancer responded to an anonymous online questionnaire between 15 July and 15 August...

Study objectives: This study aimed to examine psychometric properties of the Disturbing Dream and Nightmare Severity Index (DDNSI) in individuals aged between 18 and 39. Methods: All participants (n=674) were asked to complete the DDNSI, including the modified Nightmare Effects Survey (mNES). Additionally, 109 participants were tested for test-r...