Daily Sleep Quality and Daily Stressors in Couples Coping With Type 1 Diabetes

Objective: To examine the influence of daily sleep quality in patients with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) on that of their spouses and to investigate the influence of couples' sleep quality on patients' diabetes-specific stressors and couples' general stressors the following day. Methods: 199 patients with Type 1 diabetes (Mage = 46.82) and their spouses (Mage = 46.41) completed a 14-day diary where they reported on their own sleep quality, and the presence of general stressors. Patients reported the presence of diabetes-specific stressors. Multilevel modeling examined the effects of daily variability in (within-person effects) and average levels of (between-person effects) sleep quality on the number of next-day diabetes-specific stressors (controlling for prior day stressors). Furthermore, the actor-partner interdependence model was used to examine the effect of sleep quality on general stressors. Results: Greater patients' daily sleep quality was related to their spouses' greater sleep quality. Increases in the patients' own daily- and average sleep quality were uniquely associated with fewer next day diabetes-specific stressors. Better own daily- and average sleep quality were associated with fewer general stressors for both partners. Spouses' increased daily sleep quality was associated with fewer general stressors of patients. Conclusions: The results support that sleep quality is a dyadic phenomenon among couples and suggest that better sleep quality may buffer diabetes specific and general stress in couples coping with T1D.