Sleep Quality in Assisted-Living Residents

April 27, 2026 updated by: Marc Poulin, University of Calgary

Understanding the Association Between Sleep Quality, Physical Activity, and Memory in Assisted-Living Residents

Assisted living residents who have sleep disturbances are at great risk of developing cognitive impairments. The identification of factors that increase sleep problems in this population is the first step towards improving sleep disorders and reducing and/or delaying the occurrence of cognitive impairments in this population. Physical activity has been proposed to improve sleep quality in older individuals, but there is currently no scientific evidence of how sleep mediates the relationship between physical activity and cognition in assisted living residents. This is a cross-sectional study that investigates the relationship between sleep quality, functional/physical capacity, and cognitive performance. Participants will be recruited through a non-probabilistic sampling method (convenience) as this is a feasibility study that aims to identify, for the first time, sleep disorders in assisted living residents using objective measures of sleep. Sleep quality will be measured with polysomnography, actigraphy, and questionnaire. Functional and physical capacity will be assessed through walking tasks and actigraphy. Cognitive tasks will be used to assess memory. This study will bring new insights into the factors that affect the quality of life and sleep in assisted living residents. The evidence-based knowledge acquired on-site will be translated and shared with the local and global scientific community to raise awareness of the factors that contribute to increasing institutionalization and dependent living. Results obtained from objective and subjective measures of sleep will be of great importance to develop specialized clinical expertise and behavioral interventions that will meet residents' needs.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Specific Objectives and Hypotheses:

  1. To test the feasibility of using polysomnography to identify the severity of sleep disorders in assisted living residents.

    The implementation of objective measures of sleep in assisted living residents is practical and provides accurate information on sleep architecture parameters.

  2. To investigate the association between functional capacity and physical activity and sleep quality in assisted living residents using functional tests and actigraphy, respectively.

    There is a positive association between functional capacity and sleep quality and physical activity will improve sleep quality in the efficiency and duration domains.

  3. To investigate the association between sleep quality, measured through actigraphy, and cognitive performance, specifically in the memory domain, in assisted living residents.

    There is a positive association between sleep quality, especially sleep efficiency, and cognitive performance.

  4. To compare the sleep quality (measured with polysomnography, actigraphy, and questionnaire) in assisted living residents with older individuals of the same age and cognitive performance (Montreal Cognitive Assessment; MoCA score > 26) who live independently.

Sleep quality will be lower in assisted living residents in comparison with older individuals who live independently and the use of various methods to assess sleep quality will provide a better estimation of the differences in sleep quality between these populations.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

150

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Alberta
      • Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 4N1
        • Recruiting
        • University of Calgary

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

50 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The target population will be inactive men and women residents of the Brenda Strafford Foundation (> 50 yrs. old).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Be inactivity, which will be defined as an engagement in < 3 sessions/week of 20 min or more of vigorous exercise;
  • Be able to move independently without the assistance of a wheelchair.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of a developmental handicap;
  • Residents who are not able to understand communication and be understood by others and do not have decision-making capacity according to the Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS) > 3; The investigators will assess all the resident's capacity with the Brenda Strafford Foundation caregivers, even if their CPS is within the range included in the study (CPS 0-3);
  • Terminal illness (life expectancy < 1 year);
  • Not fluent in English;
  • Currently participating in another trial;
  • Comorbid medical or neurological illnesses (e.g., multiple sclerosis) that would confound cognitive assessments or make trial completion unlikely (in the site investigator's opinion);
  • Contraindication for the tests.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Case-Only
  • Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Assisted-living residents
The target population will be inactive men and women residents of the Brenda Strafford Foundation (> 50 yrs. old). We expect the participants to be classified as inactivity, which will be defined as an engagement in < 3 sessions/week of 20 min or more of vigorous exercise. Participants should be able to move independently without the assistance of a wheelchair.
Behavioral: Cross-sectional assessments to examine the relationship among sleep quality, functional/physical capacity, and cognitive performance.
The first visit will consist of screening measurements. Participants will be asked to complete the following questionnaires: InterRAI Self Report Quality of Life Survey for Long Term Care Facilities (interRAI SQoL), Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI)-MDS 2.0, Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). At the end of this visit, the participants will be asked to wear the ActiWatch-2 (AW-2) as a wristwatch for 14 days. In the second visit, participants' height and weight will be measured and the participants will perform the following cognitive and functional tests: MoCA, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R), Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R), Time up and Go (TUG), and Cognitive TUG (TUGcog). Finally, visit 3 will consist of on-site PSG recordings.
Control group
Volunteers from the Brain in Motion II (BIM II) study (NCT03035851). The BIM II study aims to examine the mechanisms whereby exercise may improve sleep and cognition in men and women aged 50 to 80 years old. As the baseline measurements of the BIM II study are similar to the assessments proposed in this study, the assisted living residents will be matched with older individuals of the same age and cognitive performance who live independently to answer the last research question.
Behavioral: Cross-sectional assessments to examine the relationship among sleep quality, functional/physical capacity, and cognitive performance.
The first visit will consist of screening measurements. Participants will be asked to complete the following questionnaires: InterRAI Self Report Quality of Life Survey for Long Term Care Facilities (interRAI SQoL), Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI)-MDS 2.0, Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). At the end of this visit, the participants will be asked to wear the ActiWatch-2 (AW-2) as a wristwatch for 14 days. In the second visit, participants' height and weight will be measured and the participants will perform the following cognitive and functional tests: MoCA, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R), Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R), Time up and Go (TUG), and Cognitive TUG (TUGcog). Finally, visit 3 will consist of on-site PSG recordings.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Total sleep time.
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
The Prodigy Sleep Monitor (polysomnography) and Actiwatch 2 (actigraphy) will be used to analyze this sleep outcome.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Sleep efficiency.
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
The Prodigy Sleep Monitor (polysomnography) and Actiwatch 2 (actigraphy) will be used to analyze this sleep outcome.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Sleep onset latency.
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
The Prodigy Sleep Monitor (polysomnography) and Actiwatch 2 (actigraphy) will be used to analyze this sleep outcome.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Number of awakening.
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
The Prodigy Sleep Monitor (polysomnography) and Actiwatch 2 (actigraphy) will be used to analyze this sleep outcome.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
PSQI component score.
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) will be used to subjectively measure sleep quality and disturbances in the past few months. The self-related questions include the assessment of seven different sleep domains: sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medications, and daytime dysfunction. The participant should score each of the seven areas from 0 (no difficulty) to 3 (severe difficulty). Final score ≥ 5 indicates poor sleep quality.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Short-term memory, visuospatial ability, and executive function.
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) will be used.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Visuo-spatial memory.
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R) will be used.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Verbal learning and memory.
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) will be used.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Functional capacity.
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Time up and Go (TUG) task will be performed. The TUG test considers the time the participant takes to stand up from a chair, walk 3 m away, return to the chair, and sit down in the chair again.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Dual-task capacity.
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Cognitive TUG (TUGcog) will be performed. In the TUGcog test, the participant should perform the same task while counting backward from a randomly assigned number between 60 and 100
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
Total number of counts (physical activity).
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year.
The Actiwatch 2 will be used for 14 days to record total movement and patterns of activity per day.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Calgary

Collaborators

The Brenda Strafford Foundation

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Marc J Poulin, PhD, DPhil, University of Calgary

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 14, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 20, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

May 22, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 27, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • REB 19-1939

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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