Characteristics of sleep in older persons with chronic pain: a study based on actigraphy and self-reporting

To examine characteristics of sleep and sleep complaints in older persons with chronic pain, as compared to older persons with neither sleep complaints nor chronic pain, on the basis of objective and subjective sleep assessment.

Forty-three older adults (60 to 81 y) with chronic pain and 29 older adults (55 to 85 y) without sleep complaints and chronic pain participated, completing a self-report measure of sleep quality, and a measure of sleepiness. The participants kept sleep diaries for 2 weeks, and wore an actigraph for the same period of time. An actigraph is a motion-monitoring device detecting sleep-wake patterns by measuring activity levels.

The sample with chronic pain demonstrated significantly poorer sleep quality and more symptoms of disruptive sleep and poorer daytime functioning on subjective sleep measures than the comparison group. Actigraphy recordings and sleep diary data showed that participants with chronic pain spent significantly more time in bed than participants without sleep complaints. They also had lower sleep efficiency than the participants without sleep complaints, based on both a sleep diary and actigraphic data, although the actigraphic data were only nearly significant. The duration of sleep, based on both actigraphy and a sleep diary, was not significantly different between the 2 groups.

Sleep complaints such as disruptive sleep and problems initiating and maintaining sleep, and impairment in daytime functioning, are prevalent in older adults with chronic pain. Sleep and sleep complaints should be addressed to a much greater extent in this patient group.