Sleep characteristics of Veterans Affairs Adult Day Health Care participants.

Addressing sleep disturbance can help to slow functional decline, delay nursing home admission, and improve overall health among older adults; however, sleep is not widely studied in high-risk older adults such as Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) participants. Sixty-eight ADHC participants were interviewed for sleep disturbance using a 28-item screening questionnaire. More than two thirds (n = 48, 70.6%) reported one or more characteristics of poor sleep, and 38% of participants met basic criteria for insomnia. Individuals with insomnia attended ADHC less frequently, reported worse sleep quality and shorter sleep duration, and were more likely to endorse trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up too early (ps < 0.001). Research is needed to better understand perceptions, predictors, and outcomes of sleep disturbance within ADHC participants.