Gender differences in approaches to self-management of poor sleep in later life

Venn, Susan; Meadows, Robert; Arber, Sara

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.09.037

Cited by 33 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Asking doctors and patients to speak about their interactions is critical to building a comprehensive sociology of sleep and adds important explanatory depth to both quantitative (for example, Moloney et al 2011) and qualitative work (for example, Venn et al 2013). For instance, some of my findings are in agreement with a textual analysis of sleep representations in British newspapers (Williams et al 2008).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…) and qualitative work (for example, Venn et al . ). For instance, some of my findings are in agreement with a textual analysis of sleep representations in British newspapers (Williams et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…, Venn et al . ). This work – while valuable – focuses on the experience of sleepless individuals and their partners and typically neglects their physician's perspective.…”

Section: Medicalisationmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…At the institutional level, these new disorders are codified and covered by insurance (Williams 2005). Sociologists have looked closely at sleep strategy variation at the individual level by gender, age, and family structure (see Meadows et al 2008, Venn et al 2013. This workwhile valuablefocuses on the experience of sleepless individuals and their partners and typically neglects their physician's perspective.…”

Section: Medicalisation Of Sleep and Sleeplessnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Sometimes, it's easier to write the prescription’: physician and patient accounts of the reluctant medicalisation of sleeplessness

Moloney

2016

Sociology Health & Illness

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The medicalisation of sleep is a rich and growing area of sociological interest. Previous research suggests that medicalisation is occurring within the context of physician office visits, but the inner workings remain unclear. This study is the first to provide perspectives on the office visit interaction from both sleepless patients (n = 27) and the physicians (n = 8) who treat them. Analyses of semi-structured qualitative interviews reveal that sleep-related conversations are typically patient-initiated in routine office visits. Physicians and patients conceptualised insomnia as a symptom of another issue (depression), an everyday problem of living (stress) or the result of a natural life process (aging). Lack of sleep was not necessarily linked to daytime impairment. Even though sleep aids were routinely requested and prescribed, patients and physicians consistently expressed attitudes of reluctance toward the use of sedative hypnotics. I call this a case of 'reluctant medicalisation' and highlight the liminal space between pathology and normalcy inhabited by patients and physicians. I also build on recent work acknowledging the dynamics between macro and micro levels of medicalisation and illustrate the influence of multilevel 'engines' (consumerism, biotechnology, managed care and physicians) in patients' and physicians' accounts. A virtual abstract of this paper can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/7uLHOJPHF0I.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…, Venn et al . ). This work – while valuable – focuses on the experience of sleepless individuals and their partners and typically neglects their physician's perspective.…”

Section: Medicalisationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Medicalisation Of Sleep and Sleeplessnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Sometimes, it's easier to write the prescription’: physician and patient accounts of the reluctant medicalisation of sleeplessness

Moloney

2016

Sociology Health & Illness

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“…Recent strands of work within the sociology of sleep have sought to explore how ‘insomnia’ or ‘poor sleep’ is managed in every day/night life, far away from the doctor's surgery or the sleep clinic (Venn and Arber , Venn et al . ). Across these studies, poor sleep was often regarded as a normal or inevitable consequence of daily life and people tended to express negative beliefs about sleeping pills and their effects, thereby providing grounds to ‘resist’ medicalisation and pharmaceuticalisation of their sleep.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Medicalisation, pharmaceuticalisation, or both? Exploring the medical management of sleeplessness as insomnia

Coveney

Williams

Gabe

2018

Sociology Health & Illness

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In this paper we examine the medical management of sleeplessness as ‘insomnia’, through the eyes of general practitioners (GPs) and sleep experts in Britain. Three key themes were evident in the data. These related to (i) institutional issues around advocacy and training in sleep medicine (ii) conceptual issues in the diagnosis of insomnia (iii) and how these played out in terms of treatment issues. As a result, the bulk of medical management occurred at the primary rather than secondary care level. These issues are then reflected on in terms of the light they shed on relations between the medicalisation and the pharmaceuticalisation of sleeplessness as insomnia. Sleeplessness, we suggest, is only partially and problematically medicalised as insomnia to date at the conceptual, institutional and interactional levels owing to the foregoing factors. Much of this moreover, on closer inspection, is arguably better captured through recourse to pharmaceuticalisation, including countervailing moves and downward regulatory pressures which suggest a possible degree of depharmaceuticalisation in future, at least as far prescription hypnotics are concerned. Pharmaceuticalisation therefore, we conclude, has distinct analytical value in directing our attention, in this particular case, to important dynamics occurring within if not beyond the medicalisation of sleeplessness as insomnia.

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Longitudinal associations between sleep duration and cognitive function in the elderly population in China: A 10‐year follow‐up study from 2005 to 2014

Zhang

Liu

2021

Int J Geriat Psychiatry

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Objective Sleep duration is increasingly recognized as an important determinant of cognitive function among elderly. However, longitudinal studies on the relationship between sleep duration and cognitive function in Chinese elderly are rare. We sought to investigate the longitudinal association between sleep duration and cognitive function in Chinese elderly during a 10‐year follow‐up. Method This longitudinal study analyzed 2148 elderly (the baseline including 43.16% aged 70%‐79%, 23.79% aged 80 and over) who had participated in four waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey during 2005–2014. Cognitive function (including global functioning and cognitive domains) was assessed using the Chinese version of the Mini‐Mental State Examination. Sleep duration was assessed via self‐reports. Mixed model analysis was used to evaluate the association between sleep duration and cognitive function, adjusting for sociodemographic variables and risk factors for cognitive function. Results There is an inverted U‐shaped relationship between sleep duration and global cognition and cognitive domains, with the highest cognitive scores observed for sleep durations between 6 and 9 h and the curve shifting from smooth to steeper from 2005 to 2014. The regression model showed that long sleep duration (>9 h) is significantly associated with global cognition and four cognitive domains: orientation, attention and calculation, immediate recall and visual construction. Both long and short sleep durations are significantly associated with delayed recall and not significantly associated with category fluency, language or the ability to follow a three‐stage command. The five cognitive domains related to sleep duration are the domains that exhibited a rapid rate of decline. Conclusions Sleep duration can be identified as a modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline, as long or short sleep duration is associated with the five cognitive domains that exhibit cognitive decline. These findings suggest the need for intervention measures to maintain healthy sleep durations among Chinese elderly people.

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Gender differences in approaches to self-management of poor sleep in later life

Cited by 33 publications

References 34 publications

‘Sometimes, it's easier to write the prescription’: physician and patient accounts of the reluctant medicalisation of sleeplessness

‘Sometimes, it's easier to write the prescription’: physician and patient accounts of the reluctant medicalisation of sleeplessness

Medicalisation, pharmaceuticalisation, or both? Exploring the medical management of sleeplessness as insomnia

Longitudinal associations between sleep duration and cognitive function in the elderly population in China: A 10‐year follow‐up study from 2005 to 2014

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