Abstract Introduction: The Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test (FIRST) is a 9-item self-report measure of trait vulnerability to sleep reactivity. It is biologically plausible that increased stress reactivity can have pervasive effects on sleep and health. The FIRST has shown acceptable reliability and validity, is predictive of future sleep dysfunction, and has been related to objective measures of sleep reactivity. To date, several critical aspects of this measure remain unexplored, including: 1) normative data in an unselected population, and 2) its relation to demographic, psychiatric and medical comorbidities. Methods: The FIRST was administered to 2,548 individuals of the Framingham Heart Study’s Offspring and Omni cohorts (1,406 females). Descriptive statistics were conducted to determine the mean, median, standard deviation, and range of the FIRST. Between groups comparisons assessed the difference between gender and medical diagnoses: hypertension, obesity, diabetes, COPD, asthma, ischemic heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, anxiety, and depression. Pearson correlations assessed the relation between the FIRST and age, depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; CES-D), and quality of life (12-Item Short Form Health Survey; SF-12). Results: The average age of the sample was 70.0 (SD=8.5; range 44–95). FIRST scores ranged from 0–27, with a mean of 8.30 (SD=5.9) and a median of 7. There were significant differences for gender (women > men, p<.0001), COPD (p= .02), asthma (p=.03), anxiety (p<.0001), and depression (p<.0001). The FIRST correlated with age (r=-0.08), depression (r=0.34), and quality of life (r=-0.29), with all p-values <.0001. Conclusion: This study provides useful normative data for the FIRST. Higher sleep reactivity is related to younger age, gender, depression, and poorer quality of life. Future analysis will assess relationships with cognition, biological markers such as endothelial function and inflammation. Support (If Any): NHLBI N01 HC 25195.