Beyond mean values: Quantifying intraindividual variability in pre-sleep arousal and sleep in younger and older community-dwelling adults

Intraindividual variability is an often understudied aspect of health outcomes research that may provide additional, complementary information to average values. The current paper aims to further our understanding of intraindividual variability in health research by presenting the results of a daily diary study of sleep and pre-sleep arousal. Pre-sleep arousal is often implicated in poor sleep outcomes, although the arousal–sleep association is not uniform across age groups. The examination of intraindividual variability in different age groups may provide a more complete understanding of these constructs, which, in turn, can inform future research. The overall objectives of the current study are to quantify the amount of intraindividual variability in pre-sleep arousal and sleep and to examine age differences in this variability. A sample of older (n=50) and younger (n=50) adults recruited from North Central Florida and online completed 14-consecutive-day diaries assessing pre-sleep arousal and sleep outcomes. Significant age differences were found for sleep and pre-sleep arousal; older adults displayed poorer, more variable sleep for the majority of sleep outcomes, and higher levels of pre-sleep arousal than younger adults. The high amount of intraindividual variability has implications for the assessment of pre-sleep arousal and sleep across age groups.