Multidimensional Environmental Factors and Sleep Health for Aging Adults: A Focused Narrative Review

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Sleep Science
• Environmental Health and Public Health

Background:

• Sleep is crucial for health and quality of life in aging adults.
• Multidimensional environmental factors present a complex influence on sleep health.
• Existing literature requires synthesis to understand environmental impacts on older adults' sleep.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a focused narrative review of literature on multidimensional environments and sleep health in aging adults.
• To categorize and map environmental factors influencing sleep across individual, home, and neighborhood levels.
• To identify knowledge gaps and suggest future research directions.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search across five major electronic databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed/Medline, EBSCOhost, PsycINFO, Google Scholar).
• Inclusion of 70 peer-reviewed articles after rigorous screening for relevance and quality.
• Categorization of environmental factors into housing security, home environment, and neighborhood environment.

Main Results:

• Identified key environmental factors across housing, home, and neighborhood levels impacting aging adults' sleep.
• Demonstrated a comprehensive map of environmental influences on sleep health at individual, home, and neighborhood scales.
• Highlighted that environmental factors affect physical, mental, and cognitive health through sleep in older adults.
• Revealed sleep disparities among racial minorities in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities due to cumulative environmental stressors.

Conclusions:

• Multidimensional environmental factors significantly affect sleep health in aging adults, with downstream impacts on overall health.
• Sleep disparities in vulnerable populations are exacerbated by coexisting environmental stressors.
• Further research is needed to address identified knowledge gaps in environmental influences on geriatric sleep.