Abstract
Abstract
Introduction:
A central tenant of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is that individuals’ thoughts and beliefs about sleep are integral to their sleep quality. Previous research has examined sleep satisfaction in older adults, but little research has focused on how Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (DBAS) may influence sleep satisfaction. In this study of older adults, we hypothesized that participants who endorsed more DBAS would also report less sleep satisfaction.
Methods:
162 older adults (98 females; mean age 66.4, range 60–79) completed questionnaires, which assessed demographic information, included the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep 16 (DBAS-16), and a question about sleep satisfaction. Prior to the screening interview, participants were excluded for being < 60 or > 80 years old, sleep duration not between 6–7.25 hours or 8–9.25, time in bed spent not trying to fall asleep > 30 minutes at night or in the morning, more than 90-minutes napping per day, shift-work, recent travel across multiple time zones, irregular sleep schedule, smoking, and several chronic medical conditions. A multivariable logistic regression was employed to test the relationship between DBAS and sleep satisfaction, controlling for age, sex, sleep duration, and socioeconomic status.
Results:
In this sample, 13 of the 162 participants reported having unsatisfactory sleep. Participants who had a higher DBAS score also had a greater odds of reporting less satisfactory sleep (OR=2.11, 95% confidence interval = 1.32–3.38).
Conclusion:
As hypothesized, these results suggest that sleep-related dysfunctional beliefs may be associated with a greater odds of older adults reporting unsatisfactory sleep. These findings have therapeutic implications, where sleep satisfaction in older adults could possibly be improved by targeting dysfunctional beliefs about sleep. Future research, which targets these maladaptive beliefs could also help establish causality in this relationship, if it is found that improving these also increases sleep satisfaction.
Support (If Any):
NIH/NHLBI HL095799.
