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Mood and sleep in aging women
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|December 1, 1985
Summary
Aging women showed minimal links between daily mood and sleep quality. Only sleep efficiency and the time to the first rapid eye movement (REM) sleep period reliably correlated with mood, suggesting sleep is insulated from daily mood shifts.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Sleep Medicine
- Psychology
Background:
- Sleep disturbances and mood variations are common in aging populations.
- Understanding the relationship between sleep and mood is crucial for well-being in older adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the covariation between mood and sleep patterns in normal, aging women.
- To identify specific sleep variables that correlate with daytime mood states.
Main Methods:
- Mood was assessed in the evenings over three consecutive days.
- Mood assessments were related to sleep variables recorded before and after each night's sleep.
- Sleep efficiency and latency to the first rapid eye movement (REM) period were key variables analyzed.
Main Results:
- A limited number of sleep variables showed reliable relationships with daytime moods.
- Sleep efficiency and latency to the first REM period were the only significant correlates.
- Most sleep variables did not show significant covariation with mood assessments.
Conclusions:
- Sleep appears generally insulated from day-to-day mood variations in this cohort of aging women.
- The findings suggest that mood fluctuations may not strongly impact objective sleep parameters in healthy older women.
- Further research may explore other factors influencing mood and sleep in aging.