The Association Between Sleep, Sex Differences, and Mental Health Across the Lifespan

CONFERENCE REPORTER

Fumiko Hamada from the University of South Florida discussed sex differences in sleep problems and psychological well-being among older adults at the SLEEP 2026 annual meeting.¹

She brought up the complexity of aging, including hormonal changes, lifestyle shifts, and occupational changes, and their impact on sleep.² Importantly, she stressed that both patient and clinician must not dismiss sleep struggles as solely a result of aging, especially in women. Interventions must cater to both sex and age differences in patients.

Hamada and her team examined 574 middle-aged and older adults who participated in the Midlife in the United States study at 2 time points (T1: 2005-2006, T2: 2013-2017, median age at T1=51.7, women=316). Participants responded via telephone to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and a 42-item psychological well-being questionnaire (range=42-294; higher scores indicate better well-being). Then, they used linear regressions to examine the prospective association between PSQI (T1) and psychological well-being (T2), adjusting for sociodemographic and health covariates, including age, sex, education, current working status (currently working, not working, retired), partnered status (living with a partner or living alone), number of illnesses, and T1 psychological well-being score. Then they tested for moderation by including interaction terms between PSQI and sex.

They found that more sleep problems at T1 were related to lower psychological well-being at T2 (unadjusted: B=-2.71, SE=0.38, P< 0.001; adjusted: B=-1.20, SE=0.30, P< 0.001), showing that sleep problems have lasting negative effects on psychological well-being over 9 years.

Ms Hamada is a PhD student at the University of South Florida.

References

1. Hamada F, Walters M. 0852 Sex differences in the association between sleep problems and psychological well-being nine years later among middle-aged and older adults. Sleep. 2026;49(Suppl 1):A381.

2. Genetics, aging and sleep: sleep and aging. Harvard Medical School. October 1, 2021. Accessed June 16, 2026. https://sleep.hms.harvard.edu/education-training/public-education/sleep-and-health-education-program/sleep-health-education-79