THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEIVED STRESS, SLEEP PATTERNS AND COGNITION AMONG OLDER ADULTS IN CHINA AND INDIA

Abstract

Previous research reported a bidirectional relationship between sleep and cognition in older adults. Changes in stress levels may account for changes in cognition associated with sleep problems, yet this issue has not been extensively studied. Using the WHO SAGE data that includes adults age 50+ from China and India (N=16,406), we examined whether perceived stress moderates the relationship between self-reported sleep patterns (i.e. duration and quality) and cognition. Perceived stress was negatively associated with cognition, while sleep duration was positive correlated with cognition. Controlling for key sociodemographic and subject characteristics, we found that perceived stress moderates the relationship between sleep duration and cognition. For example, cognition of individuals with elevated perceived stress and longer sleep duration was better compared to those with elevated stress but shorter sleep duration. Future studies should explore the longitudinal association between stress, sleep and cognition with the goal to mitigate cognitive decline in this population.