Caregivers of people with dementia often report poor-quality sleep. Researchers at the University of Florida used objective and subjective data from two previous studies to compare the sleep patterns of older-adult caregivers of people with dementia and older-adult noncaregivers. The noncaregivers (median age, 73 years) were living in the community and had no sleep disorders other than insomnia. The caregivers (median age, 71 years) had no sleep disorders and provided direct care to a person with dementia and nighttime awakening. The health status of both groups was similar.

Objective actigraph data were gathered by a digital movement detector and light sensor worn on the wrist for three to seven sleep periods. Participants' daily sleep diaries collected subjective information on sleep times, awakenings, and sleep quality. Researchers also measured depressive symptoms, daytime sleepiness, and the effect of fatigue on function.

Caregivers' objectively measured sleep, characterized by less total sleep time and a longer time to fall asleep, was worse than noncaregivers'. However, these findings were not duplicated by subjective measures, and depressive symptoms were the only predictive factor of poor sleep quality; depressed participants reported longer total sleep times, a longer time to fall asleep, and more time awake after sleep onset. Caregivers' sleep varied more from night to night than noncaregivers' did. The results suggest that sleep changes are caused by a multitude of factors.

Lead author Meredeth Rowe told AJN, "It is critical for nurses to assess the adequacy of sleep in caregivers of persons with dementia. Frequent problems include daytime sleepiness, too little sleep at night, and taking too long to fall asleep. These sleep problems may be due to a combination of problems including depression, worry, and needing to provide nighttime supervision. Potential interventions include assessment and treatment of depression, teaching techniques to control worry when retiring, and [implementing] techniques to improve sleep in the person with dementia, such as increasing daytime activity and limiting daytime napping."