Social Support and Sleep: A Meta-Analysis

Objective: While the implications of social support are increasingly well understood, no meta-analytic review to date has examined the intersection of the social support and sleep literatures. The aims of this meta-analysis were primarily to review the association between social support and sleep and additionally to test several proposed moderators from prior work. Method: Using a literature search and the ancestry approach, the review identified 61 studies with a total of 105,437 participants. Results: Random-effects modeling showed that greater social support was significantly related to improved sleep outcomes (Zr = −.152). These results were not moderated by the operationalization of support, study design, or chronic conditions. Conclusions: These data indicate a robust association between social support and favorable sleep outcomes.