The authors of a recent study published in The Gerontologist , “examined whether the associations of Positive Affect (PA) and depressive symptoms with sleep problems differed between caregivers and noncaregivers.” Interviews were conducted with 92 caregivers and 137 noncaregivers ages 60 and older. Sleep problems were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and depressive symptoms were assessed based on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale. The authors found that “caregivers with high PA had significantly fewer sleep problems, whereas those with depressive symptoms reported slightly more problems.” Additionally, “high PA and depressive symptoms were not associated with sleep problems among noncaregivers.”
