Napping and Nighttime Sleep: Findings From an Occupation-Based Intervention

Abstract

Objective: To describe sleeping behaviors and trends over time among an ethnically diverse group of community-living older adults.

Method: A descriptive secondary data analysis of a subsample (n = 217) from the Lifestyle Redesign randomized controlled trial was done to explore baseline napping and sleeping patterns as well as 6-mo changes in these outcomes.

Results: At baseline, the average time sleeping was 8.2 hr daily (standard deviation = 1.7). Among all participants, 29% reported daytime napping at baseline, of which 36% no longer napped at follow-up. Among participants who stopped napping, those who received an occupation-based intervention (n = 98) replaced napping time with nighttime sleep, and those not receiving an intervention (n = 119) experienced a net loss of total sleep (p < .05).

Conclusion: Among participants who stopped napping, the occupation-based intervention may be related to enhanced sleep. More research examining the role of occupation-based interventions in improving sleep is warranted.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00786344.

Copyright © 2016 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Figures

Figure 1.

Napping behaviors at 6-mo follow-up: (A) total; (B) age 60–69 yr, (C) age 70–79 yr, (D) age ≥80 yr. Note. No significant differences were found in napping patterns between age groups at the p < .05 level. Comparing differences in change in napping by age group, χ2 results are as follows: For never napped, χ2 = 0.85, p = .66; for continue to nap, χ2 = 0.27, p = .87; for started napping, χ2 = 1.04, p = .60; and for stopped napping, χ2 = 0.50, p = .78.

Figure 2.

Examining trends in sleep duration among participants who no longer napped at follow-up. Note. LR group, n = 13; no-treatment control group, n = 10. Student’s t test was used to evaluate the differences between the LR group and the no-treatment control group. Negative values reflect less sleep or napping at follow-up relative to baseline sleep and napping measures. No significant differences were found between groups in change in nighttime sleep, t (21) = 1.85, p = .08, or change in napping, t (20) = 0.86, p = .40. A significant between-groups difference was found in total sleep, t (20) = 2.84, p = .01. LR = Lifestyle Redesign. *p < .05.