Sleep attitudes as a predictor of sleep outcomes: a secondary data analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Attitudes have been widely studied as predictors of a number of social and health behaviors. However, attitudes predicting sleep outcomes have only recently been examined, despite sleep being conceptualized as an important health behavior. Prior research has demonstrated that attitudes toward sleep are associated with sleep hygiene, sleep duration and quality (Peach & Gaultney, 2017; Peach, Gaultney, Ruggiero, 2018). Sleep attitudes interact with varying demographic identities, such as age, gender, race, and perceived socioeconomic status (SES) (Ruggiero, Peach, & Gaultney, 2019). The present study hypothesized that (1) sleep attitudes would be indirectly associated with sleep outcomes (duration and quality) via sleep hygiene, and, (2) this indirect effect would be modified by specific demographic variables (age, gender, race, and perceived SES; moderated mediation). METHOD: One hundred and seventy-two adults from the United States completed an anonymous survey on sleep characteristics and health. RESULTS: Results confirmed the first hypothesis, indicating that sleep attitudes were significantly and indirectly associated with both sleep duration and sleep quality via sleep hygiene. Additionally, gender and SES further modified these significant indirect effects, meaning hypothesis two was partially supported. CONCLUSIONS: Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the importance and variability of sleep attitudes, and future research directions are considered.

Association of sleep attitudes with sleep hygiene, duration, and quality: a survey exploration of the moderating effect of age, gender, race, and perceived socioeconomic status.

OBJECTIVES: Sleep health is becoming more widely accepted as a possible preventative strategy against chronic disease and negative psychosocial outcomes. It is important to understand whether attitudes towards sleep vary by demographic characteristics and how potential differences in sleep attitudes could impact sleep outcomes. The present study examined whether there were demographic differences in sleep attitudes and whether the interaction between demographic characteristics and sleep attitudes impacted sleep outcomes (e.g. sleep hygiene, duration, and quality). METHODS: One hundred seventy-two adults from across the United States completed an anonymous survey on sleep and health. RESULTS: Sleep attitudes varied according to age, gender, and race, with more positive sleep attitudes reported by older adults, women, and those who identified as White. Although positive sleep attitudes predicted more sleep and better quality sleep, this association varied as a function of several demographic characteristics. A more complex picture arose for the interaction between demographics and sleep attitudes predicting sleep outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Future research should continue to discover for whom favorable sleep attitudes are beneficial and explore when and how sleep attitudes may be altered.

Direct and Indirect Associations of Sleep Knowledge and Attitudes With Objective and Subjective Sleep Duration and Quality via Sleep Hygiene.

Although a few studies have examined sleep knowledge and attitudes as predictors of sleep behavior, the question of which better predicts actual sleep behavior is still open. Furthermore, the construct of sleep attitudes has been inconsistently defined and measured. We examined both sleep knowledge and attitudes to determine their unique associations with sleep hygiene behaviors, and direct and indirect associations with objective and subjective sleep outcomes. College students (N = 218) completed a series of questionnaires before and after wearing a FitBit Flex accelerometer for 7 days. We collected objective sleep duration and quality using this apparatus, while participants reported subjective sleep outcomes, hygiene behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes. Analyses controlled for self-reported depression, diagnosed sleep disorder, and sleep-related medications. For both objective and subjective measures, more positive sleep attitudes but not greater sleep knowledge was directly associated with longer sleep duration, and indirectly (through sleep hygiene) with better sleep quality. The role of sleep attitudes in sleep-related behaviors and outcomes deserves further investigation as a potentially modifiable factor in sleep intervention efforts.

Sleep, impulse control, and sensation-seeking predict delinquent behavior in adolescents, emerging adults, and adults.

PURPOSE: The present study examined delinquent behavior from adolescence into adulthood within the dual systems model of adolescent risk-taking, which identifies maturational patterns of socioemotional and cognitive control systems as predictors of risk-taking. The role of sleep was also investigated within the relationship. METHODS: Hierarchical regression and path analysis examined delinquency at three waves (1996, 2001, and 2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. RESULTS: Impulse control and sensation-seeking predicted concurrent delinquent behavior at all three waves, demonstrating the developmental shift as described within the dual systems model in which the relative contribution of sensation-seeking decreases from adolescence into adulthood, whereas the relative contribution of impulse control improves. Data also revealed that sleep duration and delayed bedtimes had both direct and indirect associations with delinquent behavior during adolescence; sleep duration did not directly predict such activity during later waves. CONCLUSION: The dual systems model of adolescent risk-taking appears to be predictive of delinquent behavior during adolescence and the transition into adulthood. Preliminary findings suggest the importance of considering both adolescent sleep and cognitive and socioemotional development during research and prevention efforts of delinquent behavior.