Epidemiology of bedtime, arising time, and time in bed: analysis of age, gender, and ethnicity

This study investigated the epidemiology of subjective behavioral sleep variables (i.e., bedtime, arising time, and time in bed) as a function of age, gender, and ethnicity. Sleep diaries were analyzed for 756 participants. Regression analysis showed a main effect of age on subjective bedtime, arising time, and time in bed, but not for gender or ethnicity. Younger adults had later bedtimes and arising times than other age groups. Older adults had earlier bedtimes and later arising times, which resulted in greater time spent in bed than any age group. These results suggest that there are distinct behavioral sleep patterns based on age but not gender or ethnicity and may have significant clinical implications, particularly for older adults.