Sleeping well, aging well: A descriptive and cross-sectional study of sleep in "Successful Agers" 75 and older

objectives: To examine diary-based, laboratory-based, and actigraphic measures of sleep in a group of healthy older women and men (>= 75 years of age) without sleep/wake complaints and to describe sleep characteristics which may be correlates of health-related quality of life in old age. Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive study. Setting: University-based sleep and chronobiology program. Intervention: None. Participants: Sixty-four older adults (30 women, 34 men; mean age 79). Measurements: We used diary-, actigraphic-, and laboratory-based measures of sleep, health-related quality of life, mental health, social support, and coping strategies. We used two-group t-tests to compare baseline demographic and clinical measures between men and women, followed by ANOVA on selected EEG measures to examine first-night effects as evidence of physiological adaptability. Finally, we examined correlations between measure of sleep and health-related quality of life. Results: We observed that healthy men and women aged 75 and older can experience satisfactory nocturnal sleep quality and daytime alertness, especially as reflected in self-report and diary-based measures. Polysomnography (psg) suggested the presence of a first-night effect, especial V in men, consistent with continued normal adaptability in this cohort of healthy older adults. Continuity and depth of sleep in older women were superior to that of men. Diary-based measures of sleep quality (but not psg measures) correlated positively (small to moderate effect sizes) with physical and mental health-related quality of life. Conclusions: Sleep quality and daytime alertness in late life may be more important aspects of successful aging than previously appreciated. Good sleep may be a marker of good functioning across a variety of domains in old age. Our observations suggest the need to study interventions which protect sleep quality in older adults to determine if doing so fosters continued successful aging.