Daily Sleep Quality and Daily Stressors in Couples Coping With Type 1 Diabetes

Objective: To examine the influence of daily sleep quality in patients with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) on that of their spouses and to investigate the influence of couples' sleep quality on patients' diabetes-specific stressors and couples' general stressors the :following day. Methods: 199 patients with Type I diabetes (M-age, = 46.82) and their spouses (M-age, = 46.411 completed a 14-day diary where they reported on their own sleep quality, and the presence of general stressors. Patients reported the presence of diabetes specific stressors. Multilevel modeling examined the effects of daily variability in (within-person effects) and average levels of (between-person effects) sleep quality on the number of next-day diabetes-specific stressors (controlling for prior day stressors). Furthermore, the actor-partner interdependence model was used to examine the effect of sleep quality on general stressors. Results: Greater patients' daily sleep quality was related to their spouses' greater sleep quality. Increases in the patients' own daily- and average sleep quality were uniquely associated with-fewer next day diabetes-specific stressors. Better own daily- and average sleep quality were associated with fewer general stressors for both partners. Spouses' increased daily sleep quality was associated with fewer general stressors of patients. Conclusions: The results support that sleep quality is a dyadic phenomenon among couples and suggest that better sleep quality may buffer diabetes specific and general stress in couples coping with T1D.