Social support mediates the association between stress and nonrestorative sleep

Background: Nonrestorative sleep refers to an unrefreshed feeling after adequate sleep time. Previous studies demonstrated that stress could induce nonrestorative sleep. This study aimed to examine whether social support mediates the pathway from stress to nonrestorative sleep, in order to help design improved future interventions and treatments. Methods: The study involved a household survey. Participants were asked to complete the Chinese version of the Nonrestorative Sleep Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the ENRICHD Social Support Instrument. Structural equation model was used to assess the mediating role of social support on the relationship between stress and nonrestorative sleep. Results: 151 participants (57% female) with an average age 38.6 years (SD: 13.9) participated in the survey. Nonrestorative sleep was associated with stress (β=-1.05, P<0.001) and social support (β=0.54, P<0.01) after adjusting for age, gender, marital status, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, sleep time, anxiety and depression. Furthermore, the indirect effect mediated by social support between stress and nonrestorative sleep was -0.11 (95% CI=-0.21 to -0.02, P = 0.024, 8% of total effect). Conclusions: Stress and reduced social support increased nonrestorative sleep, the impact of stress could also be mediated by social support. Enhancing individuals’ social support (e.g., providing sleep consultation) can help reducing the influences of stress on nonrestorative sleep. Copyright © 2021 ICP.