Associations of sleep problems with health-risk behaviors and psychological well-being among Canadian adults

OBJECTIVES

Examine the associations of sleep problems with health-risk behaviors and psychological well-being in a representative sample of Canadian adults.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

SETTING

The 2011-2012 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS, conducted by Statistics Canada).

PARTICIPANTS

Of all individuals taking part in the 2011-2012 CCHS, 42,600 participants aged ≥18 years from five provinces/territories (Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, and Yukon) who participated in the sleep survey module were selected for this study.

MEASUREMENTS

Health conditions were self-reported. Sleep problems referred to extreme sleep durations (either <5 or ≥10 hours) and insomnia symptom. Health-risk behaviors included physical inactivity, daily smoking, highly sedentary behavior, and insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption. Worse psychological well-being included having worse self-rated general health, worse self-rated mental health, and worse sense of belonging, and being dissatisfied with life.

RESULTS

The participants represented 10,614,600 Canadian adults aged ≥18 years from the five abovementioned provinces/territories. A significantly higher prevalence of all health-risk behaviors and worse psychological well-being was found among participants with extreme sleep durations (than those with 7 to <8 hours) and insomnia symptom (than those without insomnia symptom). After multivariate adjustment, extreme sleep durations and insomnia symptom were still independently associated with increased odds of all health-risk behaviors and worse psychological well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

Both extreme sleep durations and insomnia symptom were independently associated with health-risk behaviors and worse psychological well-being among Canadian adults.