ijerph-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Sleep: A Global Public Health Issue

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 11192

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome Via degli Apuli, 1-00185 Rome, Italy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department Dynamic, Clinical Psychology and Health, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
2. Body and Action Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
Interests: psychophysiology; cognitive neuroscience; experimental psychology; Heart Rate Variability (HRV); aging; pain
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue “Sleep: A Global Public Health Issue” will focus on sleep quality and its relationship with psychological, cognitive, and psychophysiological aspects.

Sleep is a basic need for human life that affects the quality of life and health status, as extensively confirmed by previous research. Accordingly, poor sleep quality becomes the focus of public health for its association with many pathological alterations that involve physical and psychological conditions. Moreover, recent studies reported sleep quality as an important risk factor for cognitive decline.

Furthermore, sleep quality appears to be affected by the different events that occur in everyday life, especially traumatic and stressful ones (e.g., the current pandemic emergency).

Papers addressing sleep and sleep quality, considering sleep influences on daily functioning, mental health status, cognitive functions, and psychological well-being, are invited for this Special Issue.

Moreover, works focused on interpreting and developing theoretical models on sleep functioning, original research, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses are welcome.

Dr. Maria Casagrande
Dr. Giuseppe Forte
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sleep
  • sleep quality
  • sleep diseases, psychology
  • cognition
  • psychophysiology

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

12 pages, 365 KiB  
Article
Poor Sleep Quality in Aging: The Association with Mental Health
by Ilaria Corbo, Giuseppe Forte, Francesca Favieri and Maria Casagrande
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 1661; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph20031661 - 17 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3211
Abstract
Sleep disturbances are common in the elderly. A primary sleep disorder can result from the physiological decline of aging; however, secondary sleep problems result from various causes involving physical and mental health. Since little is known about the relationships between sleep quality and [...] Read more.
Sleep disturbances are common in the elderly. A primary sleep disorder can result from the physiological decline of aging; however, secondary sleep problems result from various causes involving physical and mental health. Since little is known about the relationships between sleep quality and mental health in aging, the present study aims to understand how different aspects generally associated with sleep (e.g., psychological and physiological factors, and sleep medication) may predict poor sleep quality in different stages of the lifespan. Therefore, we conducted several analyses (ANOVAs, Pearson correlations, and linear regressions) to test the hypotheses of the study. Accordingly, from a pool of 180 participants (elderly, middle-aged, and young adults), 143 individuals with poor sleep quality were selected. Different predictive patterns in the three groups emerged. Specifically, the use of sleep medication associated with worse sleep conditions is predicted by poor sleep quality in the elderly and by depression in young adults. In contrast, worsening sleep quality is predicted by depression in middle-aged adults. Previous studies focused on the transitions from good to poor sleep quality, while this is the first study to have examined the features of poor sleep quality in aging, highlighting different sleep patterns across the lifespan. This evidence should be considered from a preventive perspective. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep: A Global Public Health Issue)
14 pages, 875 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Sleep Disturbances in Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome and Their Relation with Cognitive and Behavioral Features
by Elisa Fucà, Floriana Costanzo, Laura Celestini, Alessandra Mandarino and Stefano Vicari
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 5001; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18095001 - 09 May 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2159
Abstract
Despite sleep disturbances are common among youths with Down syndrome (DS), the cognitive and behavioral features associated with sleep problems have not yet been studied extensively. The present study investigated the presence of sleep disturbances in a group of children and adolescents with [...] Read more.
Despite sleep disturbances are common among youths with Down syndrome (DS), the cognitive and behavioral features associated with sleep problems have not yet been studied extensively. The present study investigated the presence of sleep disturbances in a group of children and adolescents with DS and their cognitive and behavioral correlates. Seventy-one children and adolescents with DS underwent a neuropsychological evaluation, whereas parents completed questionnaires for the screening of the child’s sleep, emotional and behavioral problems. We found no association between sleep disturbances and sex, nonverbal IQ, nor adaptive abilities. However, we found that age was positively associated with disorders in initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS) and disorders of excessive somnolence (DOES), while body mass index was related with DOES. We also detected a relationship between visual-motor integrations and DIMS, as well as multiple associations between sleep disturbances and psychopathological and behavioral problems, mainly externalizing symptoms. The present study provided a detailed characterization of sleep problems in relation to several features of youths with DS. The proper identification of sleep disturbances profile in the DS population could support the process of clinical evaluation, in particular for psychopathological aspects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep: A Global Public Health Issue)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

29 pages, 1065 KiB  
Review
Sleep Quality and Aging: A Systematic Review on Healthy Older People, Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease
by Maria Casagrande, Giuseppe Forte, Francesca Favieri and Ilaria Corbo
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(14), 8457; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19148457 - 11 Jul 2022
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5115
Abstract
Aging is characterized by changes in the structure and quality of sleep. When the alterations in sleep become substantial, they can generate or accelerate cognitive decline, even in the absence of overt pathology. In fact, impaired sleep represents one of the earliest symptoms [...] Read more.
Aging is characterized by changes in the structure and quality of sleep. When the alterations in sleep become substantial, they can generate or accelerate cognitive decline, even in the absence of overt pathology. In fact, impaired sleep represents one of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This systematic review aimed to analyze the studies on sleep quality in aging, also considering mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD. The review process was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. A total of 71 studies were included, and the whole sample had a mean age that ranged from 58.3 to 93.7 years (62.8–93.7 healthy participants and 61.8–86.7 pathological populations). Of these selected studies, 33 adopt subjective measurements, 31 adopt objective measures, and 10 studies used both. Pathological aging showed a worse impoverishment of sleep than older adults, in both subjective and objective measurements. The most common aspect compromised in AD and MCI were REM sleep, sleep efficiency, sleep latency, and sleep duration. These results underline that sleep alterations are associated with cognitive impairment. In conclusion, the frequency and severity of sleep disturbance appear to follow the evolution of cognitive impairment. The overall results of objective measures seem more consistent than those highlighted by subjective measurements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep: A Global Public Health Issue)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop