Self-reported long sleep in older adults is closely related to objective time in bed

Although self-reported long sleep is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, little is known about the objective sleep patterns and daytime functioning of long sleepers, particularly those aged ≥50 years. Our primary aim was to compare the objective and subjective sleep patterns of a sample (n = 35) of middle- to older-aged adults who reported sleeping ≥8.5 h per night. A secondary aim was to characterize the mood and functioning of the sample. Over a 2-week period, sleep was recorded via actigraphy and a daily diary. Sleepiness was assessed daily. At the conclusion of the 2-week period, daytime sleepiness, mood, and quality of life were assessed. Measures of sleep and functioning were compared with available representative data. In the sample, actigraphic total sleep time (TST; 7.35 ± 0.97 h) was approximately 60 min greater than age-related representative values but substantially less than diary-assessed TST (8.59 ± 0.74 h) and survey-assessed TST (8.92 ± 0.78 h). Survey and diary-based subjective TST assessments agreed more closely with actigraphic time in bed (TIB; 9.11 ± 0.72 h) than TST, and correlations between subjective TST and actigraphic TIB were similar to those between subjective and actigraphic TST. Measures of mood, sleepiness, and daytime functioning were similar to population-representative values. These results suggest that, among middle- to older-aged adults, self-reported long sleep is primarily indicative of long TIB, but it also represents long objective sleep duration, particularly in comparison to age-matched data. Findings of little functional impairment corroborated previous descriptions of older long sleepers.