Understanding sleep-related quality of life in caregivers of people with traumatic brain injury.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: This study examined the relationships among measures of subjective and objective sleep-related quality of life (SRQOL), health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and care recipient functioning in caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injury (PwTBI). RESEARCH METHOD/DESIGN: This secondary analysis utilized data from a 6-month randomized controlled trial conducted at two academic medical centers. The sample included 257 informal caregivers of PwTBI, who completed monthly survey assessments and continuous wrist actigraphy monitoring. Objective SRQOL was measured as average sleep duration and variability via actigraphy; subjective SRQOL was measured using PROMIS Fatigue and Sleep-Related Impairment. HRQOL was assessed with established caregiver and general health measures. RESULTS: > .40). Linear mixed-effects models indicated that greater between-subjects sleep variability, but not sleep duration, was associated with worse global physical and mental health. CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS: These findings highlight the need to further examine the relationship between sleep variability and HRQOL in caregivers of PwTBI. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).