This study examines factors related to sleep disturbances, and the dyadic sleep relationship, in a convenience sample of 29 persons with Parkinson disease (PD) and spouse carer dyads living in regional Queensland. Carers completed questionnaires on sleep, depression, anxiety, carer burden, and well-being. Regarding carers, 66% reported sleep disturbances related to nocturnally care demands. Less than half of informal carers with a disturbed sleep had informed a health professional of this problem. Medication was the most commonly advised sleep intervention (44%). Sleep disturbances in informal carers correlated with increasing carer burden, depression scores, anxiety scores, poor quality of life, negative cognitions related to their sleep disturbance, and poor sleep hygiene. Regarding patient-carer dyads, 59% reported both the individuals having problematic sleep disturbances. Patient sleep disturbance correlated with informal carer increase in depression and anxiety scores, and poor carer burden. Informal carer’s sleep disturbance correlated with patient anxiety scores and severity of complications from PD therapy. Evidence-based sleep interventions addressing such dyads in rural areas warrant future study.

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Objectives:Sleep disturbances negatively impact the quality of life of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). While persons living in regional areas are at higher risk of PD, PD is poorly managed in regional communities. This study examined factors associated with sleep problems in PD in a regional context.Design:A mixed-methods cross-sectional design was used.Participants:Patients with PD were recruited from the Queensland Parkinson’s Project database.Measurements:Those who agreed to participate were sent a questionnaire assessing aspects of sleep, depression, anxiety, quality of life, and PD severity. Qualitative information was also gathered. Correlations between variables were examined; thematic analyses were performed for qualitative data.Results:All participants (n = 49) reported sleep disturbances, with 73% (n = 36) reporting sleep disturbance to be problematic. Global sleep dysfunction positively correlated with daytime napping (r = .34, p = .01), watching the clock when unable to sleep (r = .38, p = <.01), staying in bed when unable to sleep (r = .43, p = <.01), and going to bed hungry (r = .31, p = .03) and negatively correlated with daytime exercise (r = -.32, p = .02). Positive correlations were observed between global sleep dysfunction and depression (r = .55, p = <.01), anxiety (r = .31, p = .04), and dysfunctional sleep beliefs (r = .39, p = <.01).Conclusion:There is a clear need for identifying factors related to sleep disturbances in PD for effective management.