Individuals' perceptions of social support from family and friends are associated with lower risk of sleep complaints and short sleep duration

Arthur E Mesas; Paul E Peppard; Lauren Hale; Elliot M Friedman; F Javier Nieto; Erika W Hagen

doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2019.08.013

Individuals' perceptions of social support from family and friends are associated with lower risk of sleep complaints and short sleep duration

Sleep Health. 2020 Feb;6(1):110-116. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2019.08.013. Epub 2019 Nov 16.

Authors

Arthur E Mesas¹, Paul E Peppard², Lauren Hale³, Elliot M Friedman⁴, F Javier Nieto⁵, Erika W Hagen⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health, Health Sciences Center, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil; Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
² Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
³ Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
⁴ Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
⁵ College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
⁶ Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA. Electronic address: erika.hagen@wisc.edu.

PMID: 31740375
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleh.2019.08.013

Abstract

Objective: To examine whether individuals' perceptions of social support (SS) from partners, other family members, and friends are associated with risk of sleep complaints and short sleep duration.

Methods: A cross-sectional and prospective study with 1,688 community dwelling adults from the Retirement and Sleep Trajectories study. Four annual, self-administered questionnaires were mailed to participants in the year 2010-2014. Self-reports of individuals' perceptions of SS were obtained at the baseline survey. Sleep quality and duration were self-reported on each of the four surveys over the follow-up. Associations were examined with mixed-effect models, controlling for confounders.

Results: In fully adjusted analyses, compared with those reporting low SS from their partner, the risk of reporting more than 1 sleep symptom was significantly lower among those with intermediate (relative risk, RR = 0.68; 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.53-0.87) and high SS (RR = 0.61; 95% CI=0.48-0.77). Similarly, relative to those with low SS, those reporting high SS from family (RR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.57-0.94) and friends (RR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.58-0.92) had lower risk of having more than 1 sleep symptom. Compared with those with low, intermediate (RR = 0.70; 95% CI = 0.52-0.96), and high SS (RR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.48-0.84) from partners, intermediate (RR = 0.76; 95% CI = 0.59-0.97) and high SS (RR = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.51-0.92) from family and high SS (RR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.56-0.99) from friends were associated with lower risk of short sleep (≤6 h).

Conclusion: The perception of higher SS from relatives and friends is independently associated with lower risk of poor sleep quality and short sleep duration. Future research and intervention studies should test whether strengthening social relationships can positively effect sleep health.

Keywords: Cohort study; Older adults; Sleep; Social support.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cohort Studies
Family / psychology*
Female
Friends / psychology*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Risk
Sleep Wake Disorders / epidemiology*
Sleep*
Social Perception*
Social Support*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Factors