Relationships and CPAP adherence among women with obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract Background Obstructive sleep apnea contributes to daytime sleepiness, poor quality of life and increased risk for heart disease and hypertension among women. Continuous positive airway pressure improves sleepiness and quality of life and may reduce health risks but few studies have evaluated predictors of adherence among women. The goal of this study was to evaluate the role of relationship factors in women’s continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) adherence and change in relationship quality among married/partnered women. Methods Women recently diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea completed relationship quality, social support questionnaires and spousal involvement interviews. CPAP adherence was collected at 12 weeks. Results Data were available for 16 women. Average CPAP adherence was 3.6 SD = 2.7 h per night. Women with higher reports of social support had higher adherence. None of the unmarried/partnered participants were adherent to the recommendation of CPAP use ≥ 4 h per night at 12 week follow-up. Marital status was not associated with demographic, disease severity or social support measures. Relationship conflict among married/partnered participants was associated with lower adherence. In qualitative surveys, encouragement and support were the two most commonly reported types of partner involvement. Relationship quality did not change between baseline and 3 months. Conclusion Results suggest relationship factors are robust predictors of CPAP adherence among women with obstructive sleep apnea

Sleep, Diet, Physical Activity, and Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed routines and habits, raising stress and anxiety levels of individuals worldwide. The goal of this qualitative study was to advance the understanding of how pandemic-related changes affected sleep, diet, physical activity (PA), and stress among adults. We conducted semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 185 participants and selected 33 interviews from a represented sample based on age, race, and gender for coding and analysis of themes. After coding for thematic analysis, results demonstrated four primary themes: sleep, diet, PA, and stress. Sleep sub-themes such as poorer sleep quality were reported by 36% of our participants, and 12% reported increased an frequency of vivid dreams and nightmares. PA was decreased in 52% of our participants, while 33% experienced an increase and 15% experienced no change in PA. Participants also reported having an improved diet, mostly among women. Stress was elevated in 79% of our participants and was more likely to be discussed by women. Many participants reported how stress was involved in precipitating health behavior change, especially for sleep. Increased stress was also linked to elevated anxiety and depression among participants. The results of this qualitative study demonstrate how managing stress could have a beneficial effect on promoting health behaviors and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

Circadian Timing, Information processing and Metabolism (TIME) study: protocol of a longitudinal study of sleep duration, circadian alignment and cardiometabolic health among overweight adults

Abstract Background Both short sleep duration and circadian rhythm misalignment are risk factors for metabolic dysfunction, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The goal of this study is to examine how sleep duration and circadian alignment predict changes in cardiometabolic risk factors over a 12-month period, and test cognitive function and hedonic eating tendencies as potential mechanisms. Methods We will recruit a sample of 120 working aged adults with BMI 25–35 kg/m2 (overweight to class I obesity). The protocol includes 5 visits over a 12-month period. Study visits include wrist actigraphy to measure sleep behaviors, 24-h diet recalls, dim light melatonin collection, a computerized neurobehavioral assessment, eating in the absence of hunger task, and frequently sampled IV glucose tolerance test. Discussion The results of the TIME study will advance the understanding of how both short sleep duration and circadian misalignment contribute to behavioral aspects of obesity and metabolic dysfunction. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.Gov, NCT04759755 , registered retrospectively February 13, 2021

The Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine (SBSM) COVID-19 Task Force: Objectives and Summary Recommendations for Managing Sleep during a Pandemic

As a response to clinical observations that the pervasive stress and social/environmental disruptions from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic have also impacted sleep, the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine (SBSM) convened the COVID-19 Task Force with goals to identify and disseminate information that could be useful in addressing sleep concerns during this crisis. Participants Members of the SBSM COVID-19 Task Force. Results/Conclusions Herein is a summary of the resources developed by the SBSM COVID-19 Task force, which includes links to online materials developed for use by providers and patients, as well as brief descriptions of key recommendations by the Task Force for specific sleep conditions (e.g., acute insomnia, nightmares) and vulnerable populations (e.g., parents, essential/healthcare workers, older adults).12 month embargo; published online: 13 June 2020This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Using the weapons you have: the role of resources and competitor orientation as enablers and inhibitors of competitive reaction to new products

It is a well-accepted notion that to respond to competitive attacks firms need the necessary resources to do so. However, the presence of resources may not be a sufficient condition to enhance competitive responsiveness. Following a managerial decision-making approach, the present paper investigates how the availability of resources affects decision makers' assessment of a competitor's new product and their subsequent reaction to it. This study posits that competitive reaction follows from a decision maker's assessment of a competitive action. This assessment contains a motivation dimension and an ability dimension. The effect of three types of resources - financial, marketing, and technological - are examined. A quasi-experiment with the Markstrat business game as an empirical setting provided 339 questionnaires containing information on 29 different new product introductions. The motivation and ability dimensions are confirmed as important antecedents explaining reaction behavior. The results show that resources possess a dual, and opposing, role in influencing competitive reaction to new products. On the one hand, resources enhance decision makers' belief that they are able to react effectively to competitive attacks, but the presence of resources also makes them less motivated to react. The paper introduces two explanations for this: the liability-of-wealth hypothesis and the strong-competitor hypothesis. The addition of competitor orientation as a moderator allows us to discern between the two competing rationales for the existence of a negative effect of resources on the expected likelihood of success of a competitive new product introduction, supporting the liability-of-wealth hypothesis. The paper demonstrates the key role of competitor orientation and formulates implications from that. © 2010 Product Development & Management Association