We find that relational factors profoundly affect
older adults’ objective sleep patterns despite no significant differences in their self-
reported sleep outcomes. To this end, this study makes important contributions to
research on social ties and sleep by extending the ideas to the elderly population and
providing a more comprehensive view of the role of how social contexts affect multiple
domains of sleep in later life. As sleep is a complicated behavior with health implications,
full understanding of sleep requires knowledge and insights from both biological and
social sciences.