title: Poor sleepers who do not complain of insomnia: myths and realities about psychological and lifestyle characteristics of older good and poor sleepers.
abstract: Psychological adjustment, lifestyle, and sleep parameters were investigated in 634 older community residents. Participants were divided into three categories: good sleepers, poor sleepers experiencing high distress, and poor sleepers experiencing minimal distress. Results indicate that (1) highly distressed poor sleepers manifested an anxious, depressed, negative cognitive-affective set; (2) many coped well with age related changes in sleep quality--they resembled good sleepers in the relative absence of psychological maladjustment they displayed; (3) the three groups had similar lifestyles, but they differed in the cognitive-affective evaluation of their activities, (4) the insomnia complaint is itself multifaceted and is comprised of three distinct elements--difficulty sleeping, distress, and daytime fatigue; (5) sleep practices (e.g., naps, bedtimes) are not implicated in chronic poor sleep; and (6) many commonly held assumptions about sleep disruptions in older individuals are myth rather than reality. Implications for better understanding and treating insomnia in older individuals are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Dawson College, Canada.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Fichten
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Creti
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amsel
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Brender
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Weinstein
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Libman
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires