Dispositional optimism and sleep quality: a test of mediating pathways

Optimism and Sleep in Aging Women: Bidirectional Relationships

OBJECTIVE

Sleep quality and duration are important for biological restoration and promotion of psychological well-being. Optimism may facilitate or result from sufficient sleep, but questions remain as to directionality. The present study tested how optimism is associated with levels of and variability in sleep quantity and quality in a longitudinal burst design.

METHODS

Midlife and older women ( N = 199) reported their sleep quantity and quality in online diaries for a 7-day period, every 3 months for 2 years. Optimism was measured at baseline and end-of-study. Multilevel models tested the effects of optimism on sleep. Linear regression models tested the effect of sleep on optimism.

RESULTS

Baseline optimism was associated with higher sleep quality ( γ = 2.13 [1.16 to 3.11], p < .0001) and lower intraindividual variability (IIV; night-to-night and wave-to-wave) in sleep quantity (night-to-night: γ = -0.07 [-0.13 to -0.005], p = .03; wave-to-wave: b = -0.07 [-0.12 to -0.02], p = .003). In turn, higher average sleep quality (but not quantity) was associated with higher optimism at end-of-study ( b = 0.02 [0.007 to 0.03], p = .002). Variability in sleep was unrelated to optimism.

CONCLUSIONS

Optimism may play an important role in maintaining sleep quality and consistency in sleep quantity, perhaps by buffering stress. Similarly, sleep quality may play an important role in maintaining optimism. The cycle whereby optimism and sleep enhance one another could improve physical health and psychological well-being among aging adults.

Investigating the combined and unique contributions of positive psychological traits to sleep and exploring emotion regulation as a common mediator

The identification of variables which facilitate good quality and quantity sleep represents an important step in tackling the current global sleep loss epidemic. Previous research has established links between good sleep and the positive psychological traits of mindfulness, self-compassion, gratitude and optimism. However, studies have typically focused on single traits, limiting understanding of their collective and independent associations. The two studies reported here address this gap by exploring the combined and unique contributions of mindfulness, self-compassion, gratitude and optimism to sleep; Study 2 further investigated emotion regulation as a common underlying mechanism. Participants in both studies (Study 1 N = 268; Study 2 N = 333) completed online questionnaires assessing the four positive psychological traits and sleep quality and quantity; participants in Study 2 also completed measures of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation. Multiple regression analyses revealed that mindfulness, self-compassion, gratitude and optimism collectively accounted for 24.96% (Study 1) and 15.81% (Study 2) of the variance in overall sleep quality and quantity. Optimism and mindfulness emerged as significant linear predictors in their own right, with higher levels of optimism and mindfulness respectively being associated with better sleep. Study 2 further identified maladaptive emotion regulation as a common mediating mechanism. Findings highlight the importance of positive psychological traits in relation to sleep and indicate that optimism and mindfulness might make unique contributions to the prediction of sleep outcomes. Findings also flag emotion regulation as a potential common mediator of associations between positive psychological traits and sleep.

Sleep analysis of hospital and out-of-hospital emergency professionals

INTRODUCTION

Sleep deprivation is associated with poorer cognitive functioning and a greater risk of serious diseases. Herein, we analyzed differences in the quality of sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness between hospital emergency services and out-of-hospital emergencies services, and investigated its association with sociodemographic and labor variables.

METHOD

This is a cross-sectional observational study carried out between April 2019 and February 2020, including healthcare professionals from different emergency departments, who were evaluated through the following instruments: "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index" and "Epworth Sleepiness Scale".

RESULTS

Four-hundred and four healthcare professionals were included (mean age 40.4 ± 11.1 years), predominantly women (61.4%) from hospital emergency departments (62.6%). A total of 65.3% of the workers had poor sleep quality and 27.7% had excessive sleepiness. Women had poorer sleep quality (p = 0.022) and higher sleepiness (p = 0.010) than men. Hospital emergency workers presented 2-fold increased risk of poor sleep quality (OR = 1.93, p = 0.003) and sleepiness (OR = 1.93, p = 0.009) than out-of-hospital emergency workers. The more optimistic were less likely to have poor sleep quality (OR = 0.73, p = 0.01) or sleepiness (OR = 0.70, p = 0.002). Nurses, emergency medical technicians and nursing assistants also had a higher risk of poor sleep quality compared to physicians (OR = 1.60; p = 0.043).

CONCLUSIONS

Emergency healthcare professionals working in hospital emergency departments had a two-times higher risk of poor sleep quality and sleepiness than out-of-hospital emergency healthcare professionals.

Time Spent on Daily Activities and Its Association with Life Satisfaction among Czech Adolescents from 1992 to 2019

Life satisfaction, an important precursor of adolescents’ well-being, is linked to daily activities. Substantial changes have been noted in adolescents’ daily activities over the years, raising the question of possible consequences for life satisfaction. This study aimed to explore changes in adolescents’ life satisfaction and their time spent on daily activities (sleeping, engaging in sports, online gaming, school commuting, time spent at school) and further investigate the associations between adolescents’ life satisfaction and these daily activities. The sample comprised 2715 adolescents from birth cohorts surveyed at four time points between 1992 and 2019. Participants were administered the Daily Activities Inventory and the Berne Questionnaire on Adolescents’ Well-Being. Robust ANOVA with post hoc tests and spline regression were employed. We found cohort differences in sleep duration (8.6 h a day on average in 1992 and 7.5 in 2019). Sleep duration of 8 h and 1 h of sports activities had a beneficial effect on life satisfaction, while more than 1 h of online gaming had a negative impact. Neither school attendance nor commuting to school was associated with adolescents’ life satisfaction. The results of this study can inform public-health policies to promote sleeping and sports habits in adolescence.

Independent and Joint Associations of Pessimism, Total Calorie Intake and Acid-Producing Diets with Insomnia Symptoms among Breast Cancer Survivors

Insomnia is prevalent in up to 40% of breast cancer survivors. Few studies have examined pessimism and dietary factors as risk factors for insomnia among breast cancer survivors. We leveraged a cohort of 2944 breast cancer survivors who enrolled in the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living study; these survivors provided dietary, insomnia, mental health, demographic, and lifestyle information at baseline and at 1- and 4-year follow-up assessments. Insomnia symptoms were assessed using the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI)-Insomnia Rating Scale, and pessimism was assessed using the Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R). Total calorie intake and acid-producing diets were assessed using 24 h dietary recalls. Multivariable-adjusted generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to test the independent and joint effects of psychological and dietary factors on insomnia. In the multivariable model, women in the third tertile of pessimism had greater odds (OR = 1.57 95% CI [1.37−1.79]) of insomnia when compared to women in the lowest tertile. Total calorie intake and acid-producing diets were each independently and significantly associated with insomnia symptoms. Further, pessimism and calorie intake/acid-producing diets were jointly associated with insomnia. For instance, women with pessimism scores in tertile 3 and total calorie intakes < median reported 2 times the odds (OR = 2.09; 95% CI [1.51−3.47]) of insomnia compared to women with pessimism score in tertile 1 and calorie intakes < median. Our results highlight the need for patient care regarding mental health, and recommendations of healthy dietary intakes for breast cancer survivors.

Psychometric evaluations of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), based on nine samples

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R).

DESIGN AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The LOT-R was administered in five clinical samples, three samples of the adult general population, and one sample of adolescents. Seven of the studies were performed in Germany and two in Colombia. All of the sample sizes were above 300.

RESULTS

Cronbach's alpha coefficients were between .57 and .75 for the eight adult samples, the correlations between the scales optimism and pessimism ranged from -.05 to -.37, and the coefficients of temporal stability (test-retest correlations) of the scales ranged from .43 to .69. There were no systematic age and gender effects observed in the nine studies. While the one-factor model of confirmatory factor analyses showed clearly insufficient fit indices among all of the samples, the two-factor model fit was markedly better.

CONCLUSIONS

The LOT-R proved to be a suitable instrument for measuring dispositional optimism in patients and in the general population, though the sum score should be viewed with caution. Studies comparing the LOT-R mean scores of different samples need not take age and gender distributions into account.

Optimism and Cardiovascular Health: Longitudinal Findings From the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

OBJECTIVE

Favorable cardiovascular health is associated with greater longevity free of cardiovascular disease. Although the prevalence of cardiovascular health decreases with age, less is known about protective factors that promote and preserve it over time. We investigated whether optimism was associated with better cardiovascular health over a 10-year period.

METHODS

Participants included 3188 Black and White men and women from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Self-reported optimism was assessed in 2000 (this study's baseline) with the revised Life Orientation Test. Favorable cardiovascular health was defined by healthy status on five components of cardiovascular functioning that were repeatedly assessed through 2010 either clinically or via self-report (blood pressure, lipids, body mass index, diabetes, and smoking status). Linear mixed-effects models examined whether optimism predicted cardiovascular health over time, adjusting for covariates such as sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, health status, and depression diagnosis.

RESULTS

In models adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, optimism was associated with better cardiovascular health across all time points (β = 0.08, 95% confidence interval = 0.04-0.11, p ≤ .001) but not with rate of change in cardiovascular health. Findings were similar when adjusting for additional covariates. Optimism did not interact significantly with race (p = .85) but did with sex, such that associations seemed stronger for women than for men (p = .03).

CONCLUSIONS

Optimism may contribute to establishing future patterns of cardiovascular health in adulthood, but other factors may be more strongly related to how slowly or quickly cardiovascular health deteriorates over time.

The contribution of dispositional optimism to understanding insomnia symptomatology: Findings from a cross-sectional population study in Austria

Attitudes and expectations of people towards their lives are essential to future health outcomes. Growing evidence has linked dispositional optimism to beneficial health outcomes, such as exceptional longevity, healthy aging and better sleep quality. We describe the association between dispositional optimism and chronic insomnia, considering potential mediators, in the Austrian Sleep Survey (N = 1,004), a population‐based cross‐sectional study conducted in 2017. Optimism was measured using the validated Life Orientation Test‐Revised, and four different definitions were used to assess chronic insomnia. Three definitions were based on the criteria of chronic insomnia according to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (3rd edn). Age‐ and multivariable‐adjusted logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Among Austrians who were more optimistic, chronic insomnia risk was lower compared with those less optimistic (middle versus bottom tertile of optimism score: OR = 0.39, 95% CI, 0.22–0.70; and top versus bottom tertile: OR = 0.28, 95% CI, 0.14–0.54; p‐trend < .001). Results were similar for all four definitions of insomnia, and differed slightly between men and women. Happiness, depression and health status confounded the association, whereas lifestyle did not. Promoting dispositional optimism could represent a simple and accessible strategy to improve sleep quality and lower insomnia risk, with downstream beneficial health effects. Further research is needed to clarify the prevention potential of interventions targeting this mental trait.

A New Brief Scale to Measure Optimism

This research was done to find if using maximum likelihood could reduce the Interactive Optimism Scale-Garcia to a new valid and reliable shorter version. There were 502 adults: 263 women and 239 men (M_age = 34.67, SD = 12.27). It was used in confirmatory factor analysis. A four-item scale is obtained, having excellent goodness of fit: [χ²/df = .609, GFI (Jöreskog and Sörbom's Goodness-of-Fit Index) = .999, NFI (Normed Fit Index) = .999, CFI (Bentler's Comparative Fit Index) = 1.000, RMSEA (Steiger-Lind root mean square error of approximation) = .000 (90% CI = .0001, .077); SRMR (standardized root mean square residual) = .007], as well as factorial invariance across sexes; the scale has good internal consistency (ω = .869, α = .858, ordinal α = .906). Brief Interactive Optimism Scale-G correlates significantly with self-esteem (r = .779, p < . 01, 95% CI [.816, .736]), depression (r = -.810, p < .01, 95% CI [.843, .772]), and psychopathy (r = -.670, p < . 01, 95% CI [.723, .611]). In conclusion, Brief Interactive Optimism Scale-G is a good option for measuring optimism in Mexicans.

Recalled early life adversity and pain: the role of mood, sleep, optimism, and control

Early life adversity (ELA) has been associated with pain symptomatology in adulthood, but mechanisms and moderators of these associations are unclear. Using recall based and concurrently assessed self-report data, we examined associations between ELA, mood, sleep, and recent pain intensity and interference, and whether optimism and perceived control weakened these associations in a midlife community sample of diverse adults reporting some ELA. Controlling for demographic variables and BMI, higher levels of ELA were associated with more pain intensity and interference; greater sleep disturbance and negative mood accounted for these associations. When moderation was examined, only the path from sleep disturbance to pain interference was significantly attenuated for those with higher optimism and higher perceived control. These findings suggest that higher levels of ELA may link with pain in adulthood through poorer mood and sleep, and that resilience resources such as optimism and control may buffer some of these pathways.

Population-based norms of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R)

Background/Objective: The most common used instrument to measure optimism, both in psychological and medical research, is the Life Orientation Test- Revised (LOT-R). A multi-countries study using the future item from the LOT-R, found that level of optimism varied between countries. The provision of population-based norms is necessary, since norms enable the application of the LOT-R in individual diagnosis to compare individuals or special patient groups' scores with reference data. Method: A representative population based survey was conducted in 2014-2015. Norwegian aged 18-94 years (N = 1,792) completed questionnaires assessing sociodemographic, optimism and health and quality of life. Results: The mean age was 53.2 (SD = 16.6) and 53% were women. Mean LOT-R score was 17.2 (SD 3.0). There were marginal age and no gender differences. Although optimism was associated with sociodemographic variables, these were considered negligible due to small effect size. Norm data are given for the entire population. Optimism was associated with better health and quality of life. Conclusions: This study provides age and gender specific norm values from a representative sample of the Norwegian population. The normative data may be used in comparisons of optimism between individuals or between different samples of patients or sub-groups of people.