Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 54, Issue 3 P189-P198, Copyright © 1999 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Sleep complaints in older women who are family caregivers

S Wilcox and AC King
Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA. swilcox@rc.phs.wfubmc.edu

Providing care to a family member with dementia has significant psychological and physical consequences. Sleep quality is likely affected by caregiving, yet this domain has received surprisingly little empirical study. In this study, sleep complaints were examined in 90 older women who were family caregivers of adults with dementia. Caregivers reported more sleep complaints than similarly aged healthy adults on all seven components of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and a similar level of sleep complaints to those of sleep-impaired women and depressives on 6 and 4 components, respectively. Sleep medication was used by 38% of caregivers in the past month. The most common sleep complaints that occurred at least weekly were waking up in the night or early morning (84%), bathroom needs (83%), and sleep onset difficulties (41%). Sixty percent of the sample reporting nighttime care recipient disruptions stated that these disruptions occurred 3 or more times per week. Caregiver relationship and care recipient diagnosis were unrelated to sleep complaints. Lower levels of education, less internalized anger, care recipient disruptions, and psychological distress were related to poorer overall sleep quality. Sleep complaints are a common yet understudied problem in family caregivers.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. A. Beaudreau, A. P. Spira, H. L. Gray, C. A. Depp, J. Long, M. Rothkopf, and D. Gallagher-Thompson The Relationship Between Objectively Measured Sleep Disturbance and Dementia Family Caregiver Distress and Burden J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol, September 1, 2008; 21(3): 159 - 165. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Y. Hao Productive Activities and Psychological Well-Being Among Older Adults J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., March 1, 2008; 63(2): S64 - S72. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. J. Meltzer and J. A. Mindell Impact of a Child's Chronic Illness on Maternal Sleep and Daytime Functioning. Arch Intern Med, September 18, 2006; 166(16): 1749 - 1755. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. A. Carter and A. P. Clark Assessing and Treating Sleep Problems in Family Caregivers of Intensive Care Unit Patients Crit. Care Nurse, February 1, 2005; 25(1): 16 - 23. [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. C. Cannuscio, C. Jones, I. Kawachi, G. A. Colditz, L. Berkman, and E. Rimm Reverberations of Family Illness: A Longitudinal Assessment of Informal Caregiving and Mental Health Status in the Nurses' Health Study Am J Public Health, August 1, 2002; 92(8): 1305 - 1311. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. J. Acton Health-Promoting Self-Care in Family Caregivers West J Nurs Res, February 1, 2002; 24(1): 73 - 86. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. C. King, K. Baumann, P. O'Sullivan, S. Wilcox, and C. Castro Effects of Moderate-Intensity Exercise on Physiological, Behavioral, and Emotional Responses to Family Caregiving: A Randomized Controlled Trial J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., January 1, 2002; 57(1): M26 - 36. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. A. Atienza, P. C. Henderson, S. Wilcox, and A. C. King Gender Differences in Cardiovascular Response to Dementia Caregiving Gerontologist, August 1, 2001; 41(4): 490 - 498. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. A. Atienza, R. Collins, and A. C. King The Mediating Effects of Situational Control on Social Support and Mood Following a Stressor: A Prospective Study of Dementia Caregivers in Their Natural Environments J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., May 1, 2001; 56(3): S129 - S139. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]