The Neighborhood Social Environment and Objective Measures of Sleep in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Study objectives: To investigate cross-sectional associations of neighborhood social environment (social cohesion, safety) with objective measures of sleep duration, timing, and disturbances. Methods: A racially/ethnically diverse population of men and women (N = 1949) aged 54 to 93 years participating in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Sleep and Neighborhood Ancillary studies. Participants underwent 1-week actigraphy between 2010 and 2013. Measures of sleep duration, timing, and disruption were averaged over all days. Neighborhood characteristics were assessed via questionnaires administered to participants and an independent sample within the same neighborhood and aggregated at the neighborhood (census tract, N = 783) level using empirical Bayes estimation. Multilevel linear regression models were used to assess the association between the neighborhood social environment and each sleep outcome. Results: Neighborhood social environment characterized by higher levels of social cohesion and safety were associated with longer sleep duration and earlier sleep midpoint. Each 1 standard deviation higher neighborhood social environment score was associated with 6.1 minutes longer [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.0, 10.2] sleep duration and 6.4 minutes earlier (CI: 2.2, 10.6) sleep midpoint after adjustment for age, sex, race, socioeconomic status, and marital status. These associations persisted after adjustment for other risk factors. Neighborhood social factors were not associated with sleep efficiency or sleep fragmentation index. Conclusions: A more favorable neighborhood social environment is associated with longer objectively measured sleep duration and earlier sleep timing. Intervening on the neighborhood environment may improve sleep and subsequent health outcomes.