Age-associated differences in sleep duration in the US population: potential effects of disease burden

ObjectivesWe contrasted the relative risks (RR) of short <7 h] and long >8 h] sleep experienced by middle-aged (45–64 years) and older (≥65 years) adults, compared with young adults (20–44 years).MethodsWe utilized NHANES data (2005–2016), capturing sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health-related data among US adults.ResultsThe Relative Risk (RR) of short sleep between young and middle-aged adults did not differ RR = 1.02, NS]. However, the RR of short sleep was significantly reduced among older participants RR = 0.81, p < 0.01]. Middle-aged adults had significantly lower RR of long sleep RR = 0.80, p < 0.01], whereas older adults had significantly greater RR of long sleep RR = 1.41, p < 0.01]. Compared with young adults, older adults with or without increased disease burden had significantly lower RR of short sleep RR = 0.81, p < 0.01 and RR = 0.80, p < 0.01], respectively. However, for middle-aged adults, the RR of short sleep did not differ whether they reported a greater disease burden. Relative to young adults, older adults with or without disease burden had higher RRs of long sleep RR = 1.39, p < 0.01] and RR = 1.45, p < 0.01], respectively. For middle-aged adults without disease burden, the RR of long sleep was lower than among young adults RR = 0.72, p < 0.01].ConclusionsCompared with young adults, older adults were not at increased risk for short sleep. Rather, they reported longer sleep time regardless of the presence of disease burden. Future studies should investigate longitudinal effects of aging on objective sleep time, with or without common diseases.