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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
07:40
Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults
Published on: January 26, 2019
Self-reported sleep complaints with long and short sleep: a nationally representative sample
Michael A Grandner1, Daniel F Kripke
1San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, California 92093-0667, USA. MGrandner@UCSD.edu
Psychosomatic Medicine
|March 25, 2004
Summary
Both long and short sleepers experience sleep problems. This study highlights the often-overlooked sleep issues faced by individuals who sleep for extended durations, challenging the focus on insufficient sleep.
Area of Science:
- Sleep Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Research has extensively documented issues related to insufficient sleep.
- Emerging evidence links habitual sleep durations exceeding 7 hours to increased mortality rates.
- Problems associated with long sleep duration remain less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the prevalence of sleep problems in both long and short sleepers.
- To investigate the relationship between sleep duration and self-reported sleep complaints.
- To draw attention to the sleep issues experienced by long sleepers.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from nearly 1000 adults participating in the National Sleep Foundation's 2001 Sleep in America Poll.
- Assessed self-reported sleep complaints, including sleep onset latency, nighttime awakenings, early morning awakenings, nonrestorative sleep, and daytime sleepiness.
- Compared these complaints with reported hours of weekday sleep.
Main Results:
- Identified a U-shaped relationship between sleep complaints and reported weekday total sleep time.
- Found that individuals reporting 8 hours of sleep experienced fewer symptoms compared to both shorter (7-hour) and longer sleepers.
- Indicated that both long and short sleep durations are associated with sleep problems.
Conclusions:
- Both long sleepers and short sleepers report experiencing sleep problems.
- This research underscores the necessity of addressing the sleep issues of long sleepers, which are frequently overlooked.
- The findings suggest that optimal sleep duration for minimizing sleep complaints may be around 8 hours.
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