Association of sleep attitudes with sleep hygiene, duration, and quality: a survey exploration of the moderating effect of age, gender, race, and perceived socioeconomic status

OBJECTIVES: Sleep health is becoming more widely accepted as a possible preventative strategy against chronic disease and negative psychosocial outcomes. It is important to understand whether attitudes towards sleep vary by demographic characteristics and how potential differences in sleep attitudes could impact sleep outcomes. The present study examined whether there were demographic differences in sleep attitudes and whether the interaction between demographic characteristics and sleep attitudes impacted sleep outcomes (e.g. sleep hygiene, duration, and quality). METHODS: One hundred seventy-two adults from across the United States completed an anonymous survey on sleep and health. RESULTS: Sleep attitudes varied according to age, gender, and race, with more positive sleep attitudes reported by older adults, women, and those who identified as White. Although positive sleep attitudes predicted more sleep and better quality sleep, this association varied as a function of several demographic characteristics. A more complex picture arose for the interaction between demographics and sleep attitudes predicting sleep outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Future research should continue to discover for whom favorable sleep attitudes are beneficial and explore when and how sleep attitudes may be altered.