Association among cognitive function, daytime activities, and nighttime sleep in older adults in a long‐term care facility.

Aim: To determine how the nighttime sleep patterns of older adults in a long‐term care facility vary according to cognitive function and participation in daytime activities. Methods: This observational study was conducted with older adults aged ≥65 years who are residents of a long‐term care facility. Nighttime sleep was monitored using a non‐wearable sleep monitor for 8 weeks. Based on the Mini‐Mental State Examination scores for assessment of cognitive function, participants were classified into non‐dementia, mild‐to‐moderate dementia, and severe dementia groups. The Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test were used to analyze the data. Results: Twenty three older adults were included in this study. Sleep onset latency was significantly longer in the severe dementia group than in the non‐dementia (p =.027) and mild‐to‐moderate dementia (p =.041) groups. Sleep efficiency was significantly lower in the severe dementia group than in the mild‐to‐moderate dementia group (p =.003), whereas wakefulness after sleep onset was significantly longer in the severe dementia group than in the mild‐to‐moderate dementia group (p =.011). The number of days spent engaging in recreational activities was <50%, whereas those spent taking a nap was >60% in all older adults. Older adults with mild‐to‐moderate dementia had better sleep and participated in more daytime activities than those with severe or no dementia. Moreover, bathing in a bathtub improved sleep onset latency. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that participation in daytime activities and bathing in a bathtub affect nighttime sleep in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]