Bidirectional Associations between Loneliness, Emotional Support, and Sleep in Daily Life

Abstract

Abstract Objective Evidence suggests a link between positive social relationship perceptions and improved sleep (e.g., quality, efficiency) across the lifespan. Less work has probed the directionality of these relationships. Here, we report findings from the first study to examine bidirectional between- and within- person associations between loneliness and emotional support with daily life measures of sleep. Methods Participants were 389 healthy adults aged 40-64 (61% female) who completed hourly surveys assessing loneliness and perceptions of emotional support over the course of four days. Measures of actigraphy-assessed sleep and nightly sleep quality were also assessed over seven to ten days. Results Individuals with lower average daily loneliness showed higher sleep quality and efficiency than individuals with higher loneliness (r = -0.19, p < .001; r = -0.14, p = .008, respectively), and greater average emotional support was likewise linked with better sleep quality (r = 0.18, p < .001). Controlling for neuroticism attenuated the effects of average loneliness on sleep. Within-person analyses showed unexpected bidirectional effects. Specifically, days in which people felt relatively lonelier were followed by nights with greater sleep efficiency (γ = 1.08, p = .015), and nights when people reported relatively poorer sleep quality were followed by days with greater emotional support (γ = - 0.04, p = .013). These unexpected findings are probed in exploratory analyses. Conclusions Individuals with higher loneliness and lower emotional support report poorer sleep quality and efficiency, on average. Day-to-day fluctuations in perceptions of social relationships may affect the following night’s sleep, and vice versa.