Associations between sleep disturbances and leisure activities in late-life

Abstract

Staying active in older age is associated with benefits in health and sleep. The aim of our study was to investigate the associations between sleep difficulties and leisure activities in older persons (¡Ý60 years) in Sweden, through a cross-sectional study. Nine-hundred and forty-five persons from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care participated. Sleep disturbances were measured by the eight-item Sleep Disturbance Scale and questions about sleep medication use and sleep duration. Seventeen variables of leisure activities were included. The influence of functional status and age on sleep was also investigated. Descriptive analyses, group comparisons and multivariate analysis were performed. Sleep disturbances were associated with short sleep duration and use of sleep medication. Multivariate analysis of the total sample showed that dependency in functional status, female gender, or being octogenarian were most likely to be associated with sleep disturbances. Leisure activities such as playing chess/cards or gardening were associated with less sleep disturbances. Women reported higher use of sleep medication and more co-existing sleep disturbances than men. Multivariate analysis by gender showed that women who exercised or picked berries were less likely to have sleep disturbances, as were men who strolled in the country. Being octogenarian was associated with sleep disturbances in men. Thus we suggest leisure activities that include physical components, preferably outdoors and activities that combine social and intellectual components, enhance sleep. We would like to thank the participants, participating counties and the municipality. The Swedish National Study on Aging and Care receives financial support from the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and the participating county councils, municipalities and university departments. Finally, we thank Lund University and the School of Health Science, Blekinge Institute of Technology, for supporting the study.