Sleep, emotional supportiveness, and socially straining behavior: A multidimensional approach

Area of Science:

• Social psychology
• Sleep science
• Health psychology

Background:

• Close relationships significantly influence individual well-being.
• The bidirectional relationship between social interactions and sleep health requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the associations between emotional supportiveness and socially straining behaviors in close relationships and various dimensions of sleep health.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study utilizing data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study.
• Included 435 participants (aged 35-85) from the MIDUS II Biomarker Project.
• Employed self-report measures for social behaviors and sleep health, supplemented by 7-night wrist actigraphy and sleep diaries.

Main Results:

• Both emotional supportiveness and socially straining behaviors were associated with multiple sleep health dimensions.
• Emotional supportiveness was robustly linked to higher daytime alertness.
• Socially straining behavior was robustly linked to poorer sleep regularity, quality, and efficiency, even after controlling for covariates.

Conclusions:

• Sleep health is a significant correlate of both providing emotional support and imposing social strain within close relationships.
• Both daytime and nighttime sleep health dimensions are crucial for social functioning.
• Future research should consider both positive and negative relational dynamics when examining sleep.