Sleep Quality and Sleep Disorders in Brazilian Adults: Insights from a Virtual Population-Based Survey

Keywords

sleep quality - sleep disorders - population characteristics - epidemiologic studies

Introduction: Sleep plays a crucial role in maintaining physical, mental, and emotional health. However, national health surveys in Brazil do not delve into investigating the sleep patterns of the population.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate sleep quality indicators and the prevalence of sleep disorders among Brazilian adults, with a particular emphasis on differences based on sex and age.

Methods: Utilizing data from two cycles of the virtual Survey SONAR-Brazil (n=2050 adults, 18-65 y), we investigated sleep duration, sleep latency, nocturnal awakenings, self-perceived sleep quality and the diagnosis of the following sleep disorders: insomnia, snoring, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, bruxism, sleepwalking, sleep paralysis, and night terror. We assessed sex and age differences in the prevalence of poor sleep quality indicators (duration<7h, latency>30min, awakenings>1/night, and poor self-perceived quality) and sleep disorders using the student's t-test and chi-square test.

Results: Among all participants, 57% had some sleep disorder, the most prevalent were insomnia (26%), snoring (23%), and bruxism (19%). Furthermore, 21.7% were short sleepers (<7h), 34.9% presented awakenings >1/night, 26.8% sleep latency >30min, and 29.9% self-perceived sleep quality as poor. Regarding sex differences, while short sleep duration, snoring, and sleep apnea were more frequent among men (respectively, 29% versus 19%, p<0.001; 36% versus 18%, p<0.001; and 8% versus 4%, p<0.001), among women, there was a higher occurrence of awakenings >1/night (37% versus 29%, p=0.001), sleep latency >30 minutes (28% versus 24%, p=0.04), insomnia (27% versus 23%, p=0.05), and bruxism (22% versus 11%, p<0.001). In the comparison between groups with good and poor sleep quality, and with or without sleep disorders, the mean age of participants was higher among those experiencing awakenings >1/night (36±13 versus 33±11 years, p<0.001), self-perceived poor sleep quality (35±12 versus 34±12 years, p=0.01), sleep disorder (36±12 versus 32±10 years, p<0.001), insomnia (35±12 versus 34±11 years, p=0.03), snoring (39±13 versus 33±11 years, p<0.001), restless legs syndrome (36±12 versus 34±11 years, p=0.01), bruxism (37±12 versus 34±11 years, p<0.001), and sleep apnea (42±12 versus 34±11 years, p<0.001). However, those with sleep paralysis and sleepwalking were younger.

Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of personalized approaches for addressing sleep issues, accounting for sex and age differences. Targeted public health policies are essential for enhancing sleep quality and reducing sleep disorders among Brazilian adults. Funding: This work was supported by ‘Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Alagoas - FAPEAL’ (Grant/Award Number: 60030.0000002539/2022).

Die Autoren geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. September 2025