Daily Social Contact in Relation to Sleep: The Role of Age

Abstract

Objectives. To examine how social contact during daily activities differs by age and relates to sleep outcomes. Methods. Fifty younger and 48 older , community-dwelling adults completed the Social Rhythm Metric-17 and daily sleep diary online for 14 days. Results. Younger adults completed a greater proportion of activities with active others than older adults. Age significantly interacted with the proportion of activities completed alone, . Alone activities negatively predicted total sleep time in older, not younger adults. Discussion. Social contact, or lack thereof, is important for sleep, particularly for older adults who may be more prone to aloneness due to life course events.