Associations among stress, depressive symptoms, and insomnia in elders

ABSTRACT Objectives: To identify an association between emotional variables (stress and depressive symptoms) and the self-report of difficulty sleeping in the elderly. Methods: Descriptive, quantitative and cross-sectional study with 341 elderly people registered in Family Health Units in the city of São Carlos - SP were interviewed, divided into (a) Self-reported group without difficulty and (b) Group with difficulty sleeping self-reported. The instruments for data collection were Characterization Sheet for the Elderly with Specific Question of Difficulty in Self-Reported Sleep, Perceived Stress Scale and Geriatric Depression Scale. Results: The difficulty to sleep was self-reported in 47.5% of the sample (n = 162). The stress levels of the elderly group with difficulty sleeping were higher (M = 21.29 points) than in the group without difficulty sleeping (M = 15.97) (U = 10034.50; p = 0.010). In addition, elderly people with difficulty sleeping had a higher number of depressive symptoms (M = 4.41 points) when compared to those without difficulty sleeping (M = 3.09 points) (U = 10427.50, p = 0.000). Conclusion: The study observed that elderly people who self-reported difficulty sleeping had higher levels of stress and higher scores on the scale of depressive symptoms, allowing concluding that there is an association between emotional variables and difficulty sleeping in the elderly.