Predictors of Daytime Sleep of Nursing Home Residents With Dementia

BACKGROUND: Excessive daytime sleep (EDS) in nursing home residents with dementia may lead to decline in cognitive, affective, and functional status. Yet, we know little about predictors of EDS. OBJECTIVES: Describe daytime, nighttime, and 24-hr sleep and determine predictors of daytime sleep among them. STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional study of 104 residents from nine nursing homes used actigraphy to measure sleep variables and multiple linear regression to analyze 10 predictor factors (age, gender, body mass index, cognitive function, functional status, comorbidity, psychiatric illness, nighttime sleep minutes, frequency of nighttime awakenings, and number of sedating medications per participant). RESULTS: In this sample, 66% of participants were female octogenarians. On average, they slept 139.0 min (SD ± 113.5) during the day, 340.6 min (SD ± 156.0) at night, and 479.6 min (SD ± 227.1) during 24 hr. Significant predictors of daytime sleep were nighttime sleep minutes (Beta = .34; p < .001), comorbidity (Beta = .24; p < .01), and gender (Beta = .21; p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Controlling comorbidity may enhance daytime alertness.