Is Sleep Behavior Impacted by Sharing a Bed or Room with a Partner? A Cross-Sectional Study with Older Adults

Despite exploring factors, little is known about sleep quality and room sharing in older adults. To examine differences in sleep quality among older adults as a function of bed/room sharing during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Brazil and enrolled 1,123 older adults aged 60 years and older. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess sleep quality and sleep duration. Bed or room sharing was assessed using a single question (“do you have a bed partner or a roommate?” “no bed partner or roommate”; “partner/roommate in other room”; “partner in the same room, but not same bed”; “partner in same bed”). Between group comparisons were performed with ANCOVA adjusting for confounders. The group “partner in the same bed” reported significant lower global PSQI scores compared to the “no bed or roommate partner” group (6.00 ± 0.27 versus 7.22 ± 0.23, respectively; p = 0.029). Furthermore, the group “partner in same bed” reported superior (p < 0.001) sleep duration (7.42 ± 0.09 hours) compared with older adults in the “no bed or roommate partner” (6.82 ± 0.08 hours), “partner or roommate in another room” (6.77 ± 0.14 hours; p < 0.001), and “partner in the same room but not in same bed” (6.82 ± 0.11 hours; p < 0.001) groups. The findings suggest that sharing a bed with a partner seems to be associated with significant better quality and duration of sleep among older adults.