Loneliness and social isolation is associated with sleep problems among older community dwelling women and men with complex needs

Abstract

Abstract Sleep problems, loneliness and social isolation often increase with age, significantly impacting older adults’ health and wellbeing. Yet general population health empirical evidence is surprisingly scant. Using the largest national database to date, cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses was undertaken on 140,423 assessments from 95,045 (women: 61.0%) community living older adults aged ≥ 65 years having standardised home care assessments between 1 July 2012 and 31 May 2018 to establish the prevalence and relationships between insufficient sleep, excessive sleep, loneliness and social isolation. At first assessment, insufficient sleep (women: 12.4%, men: 12.7%) was more commonly reported than excessive sleep (women: 4.7%, men: 7.6%). Overall, 23.6% of women and 18.9% of men reported feeling lonely, while 53.8% women and 33.8% men were living alone. In adjusted longitudinal analyses, those who were lonely and socially isolated were more likely to experience insufficient sleep. Respondents with excessive sleep were more likely to live with others. Both loneliness and social isolation contributed to insufficient sleep, synergistically. Loneliness, social isolation and health-concerns may affect the restorative properties of sleep over and above the effects of ageing. Further research is warranted.