# Daily Experiences Among Couples Living With Early-Stage Dementia: Implications for Daily Sleep and Long-Term Well-Being and Cognitive Function

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $756,410

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Persons living with dementia (PLWD) frequently experience sleep problems (e.g., trouble falling and
staying asleep), which may reduce psychological well-being and exacerbate cognitive decline. PLWD are often
supported by their spouses or cohabiting partners who are themselves at increased risk of sleep problems,
psychological distress, and cognitive impairment. Spouses shape one another’s health and well-being in the
context of aging and chronic illness. However, ADRD care research has primarily focused on caregivers’ own
sleep, well-being, and cognitive function, limiting knowledge of how each care dyad member’s experiences
may influence sleep, well-being, and cognitive function within the care dyad. This project will advance the
literature on ADRD care by testing a novel conceptual model within an innovative dyadic intensive longitudinal
design to assess how daily perceived stress and positive experiences are associated with daily sleep as well
as long-term impacts on well-being and cognitive function among couples living with early-stage ADRD.
 The proposed project will recruit 150 married or cohabiting couples aged 60 and older (300 individuals) in
which one partner lives with early-stage ADRD. At baseline, both partners will be asked to complete hour-long
phone interviews and in-person cognitive assessments followed by 7 consecutive days of brief ecological
momentary assessment (EMA) smartphone surveys (5 times a day) and objective sleep tracking using wrist
actigraphy. The hour-long phone interviews and cognitive assessments will be repeated at 1 and 2 years after
baseline with midpoint check-in calls and brief semi-structured data collection at 6 months in between study
waves. We will explore three specific areas of inquiry: First, we will determine whether own and partner reports
of daily perceived stress and positive experiences predict daily sleep (e.g., self-reported sleep quality, objective
sleep efficiency) within ADRD care dyads. Second, we will evaluate whether own and partner daily perceived
stress, daily positive experiences, and daily sleep predict well-being (e.g., depressive symptoms) and cognitive
function (e.g., global cognition) over 2 years within ADRD care dyads. Third, we will examine whether own and
partner daily sleep reactivity (i.e., daily perceived stress-sleep links and daily positive experiences-sleep links)
predicts well-being and cognitive function over 2 years within ADRD care dyads. In all three aims, we will
examine variations by PLWD and spouse reports of psychosocial resources (personal mastery, self-efficacy,
purpose in life, and social support) that may mitigate risk of adverse outcomes. Findings will identify potentially
modifiable mechanisms at the daily level that explain both daily and long-term health outcomes within ADRD
care dyads. Understanding dynamic processes and factors that promote resilience within ADRD care dyads
will inform timely dyadic interventions to improve the health...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10836578
- **Project number:** 5R01AG082025-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Courtney A. Polenick
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $756,410
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-05-15 → 2029-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10836578

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10836578, Daily Experiences Among Couples Living With Early-Stage Dementia: Implications for Daily Sleep and Long-Term Well-Being and Cognitive Function (5R01AG082025-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10836578. Licensed CC0.

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