Objective Sleep Characteristics and Loneliness in a National Sample of Older Adults: Does Social Isolation Modify the Association?

Veronica McSorley , University of Chicago
Jade Benson, University of Chicago
Louise Hawkley, NORC at the University of Chicago
Diane S. Lauderdale, University of Chicago

Loneliness and social isolation are associated with adverse health outcomes; however, they are distinct concepts. Social isolation is characterized by lack of social connectedness, whereas loneliness is a perceived feeling of isolation. Among older adults, the effects of social isolation and loneliness on health may be heightened, yet the relationship between the two is weaker. Sleep quality has been linked to social isolation and loneliness in lab and observational studies, and recent evidence suggests that sleep loss could trigger social withdraw. We consider whether objectively measured sleep characteristics are associated with loneliness or social connectedness and whether a potential sleep-loneliness relationship varies with levels of social disconnectedness. We hypothesize that individuals with less social connectedness may have a stronger association between poor sleep and perceived loneliness, either because social withdrawal is the link between the two or because richer social interaction mutes the negative impact of poor sleep on loneliness.

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 Presented in Session 246. Sleep and Population Health Disparities