Self-Reported Sleep, Demographics, Health, and Daytime Functioning in Young Old and Old Old Community-Dwelling Seniors

Sleep, demographics, health, and daytime functioning were examined in young old (60-74 years; n = 175) and old old (75-98 years; n = 147) community-dwelling seniors. Sleep diaries (2 weeks), 6 daytime functioning measures, and a demographics-health questionnaire were collected. The old old reported worse sleep than the young old. Women reported worse sleep than men. Hierarchical regressions revealed demographic information alone was not sufficient for understanding sleep. Specifically, demographic information predicted sleep onset latency and sleep efficiency for both groups, but not number of awakenings or total nap time. Health and daytime functioning accounted for significant increases in the variance in sleep "over and above" that accounted for by demographics alone or demographics and health combined, respectively. All variables combined accounted for 15% to 30% of the variance in sleep. Because the importance of specific measures varied by group and sleep variable, research exploring the differential utility of specific measures for young old versus old old appears warranted.