Integrating Sleep Monitoring With Health Guidance: An Exploratory Study of Sleep Management in Older Adults

Sleep quality is crucial for maintaining and enhancing health and quality of life in older adults. However, the specific components of sleep-related lifestyle advice associated with improved sleep quality remain unclear. This exploratory study aimed to describe the themes of personalised health guidance provided to community-dwelling older adults by targeting those whose scores on the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), a validated self-reported measure of insomnia severity, improved after an intervention that combined sleep monitoring and personalised health guidance.

In a 3-month intervention, 12 trained healthcare professionals (including nurses and public health nurses) delivered individualized health guidance using sleep data obtained from a non-wearable actigraphy device, the Active Sleep Analyser. Among them, 11 provided guidance to the participants whose data were included in the present analysis. Of the 168 older adults who received the intervention, the data from 162 participants with complete AIS scores were analyzed. From this group, 57 individuals who displayed improvements in their AIS severity classification over a 3-month period were selected for qualitative analysis. The guidance sessions were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using an inductive content analysis approach.

The analysis revealed seven major categories comprising 18 sub-categories. The categories were: (1) Praise for improvements in sleep quality and behavioural change efforts; (2) evaluation and continuous support for behaviour change; (3) establishing appropriate napping habits; (4) developing a healthy daily routine and rhythm; (5) establishing appropriate sleep habits; (6) addressing factors affecting sleep quality; and (7) appropriate medical advice and recommendations to consult physicians.

This exploratory study described the themes observed in the personalized health guidance provided to older adults who showed improvements in AIS scores. These findings provide descriptive insights and may inform the development of future interventions or hypothesis-driven studies to support sleep health among community-dwelling older adults.