Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Anxiety and executive functions in mid-to-late life: the moderating role of sleep.

Perez E, Dzierzewski JM, Aiken-Morgan AT, McCrae CS, Buman MP, Giacobbi PR, Roberts BL, Marsiske M. Anxiety and executive functions in mid-to-late life: the moderating role of sleep. Aging & mental health. 2020 Sep 1; 24(9):1459-1465.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

The goal of the study was to examine the influence of sleep efficiency on the relationship between anxiety and executive functions. Secondary data analyses of 82 community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults were performed ( age = 63.00, ? = 8.64). Anxiety was measured using the trait anxiety subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Sleep efficiency was measured using one-week of sleep diary data. Two executive functions, cognitive flexibility and inductive reasoning, were measured using the Trail-Making Test and Letter Series task, respectively. SPSS PROCESS macro software version 2 was used to assess the moderating role of sleep efficiency in the relationship between anxiety and executive functions. Sleep significantly moderated the relationship between anxiety and inductive reasoning. Among middle-aged and older adults with high anxiety, those with good sleep efficiency displayed significantly better inductive reasoning than those with poor sleep efficiency after controlling for age, gender, and education (? .05 = .017). Sleep efficiency did not significantly moderate the relationship between anxiety and cognitive flexibility. Sleep efficiency weakened the association between anxiety and inductive reasoning in middle-aged and older adults. Evidence from the study suggests better sleep may limit the negative effects of anxiety on executive functions in mid-to-late life. Further research is needed to elucidate the impact of anxiety and sleep on executive functions in clinical populations with anxiety.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.