People who experienced loneliness and poor sleep quality were more likely to have depressive symptoms than individuals who weren’t lonely and had better [sleep quality](https://www.mcknights.com/news/older-adults-with-smartphone-addiction-have-poorer-sleep-study-finds/), a study finds. The [research](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-93681-3) was published in _Scientific Reports_ on Monday.
A team of researchers surveyed 1,016 older adults in China who were over the age of 45; the median age of respondents was 60. Of respondents, 20.9% experienced depression, 23.4% were lonely and 34.1% slept poorly. Investigators used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to evaluate sleep quality over the month prior to being surveyed. The University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale and 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were used to evaluate loneliness and depression.
After investigators adjusted for sociodemographic factors, health status and lifestyle factors, they noticed that loneliness and poor sleep quality were independent risk factors for depressive symptoms among participants. The higher the level of loneliness a person experienced, the poorer the sleep quality they had, the data revealed.
“Loneliness may lead to reduced sleep quality in individuals, which in turn may lead to or exacerbate depressive symptoms,” the authors wrote.
The results show the need to assess people who are lonely and develop strategies to improve sleep quality in that population. Programs to ease loneliness that integrate strategies to improve sleep could potentially lead to a decline in depression, the authors noted.
Of note about the results: More than half of the survey respondents were farmers and tended to have less money than others in the study. The prevalence of depressive symptoms is usually high in those who are less affluent, the team pointed out.