# Leveraging social networks to improve sleep and mindfulness among older adults in low-income housing

> **NIH NIH R34** · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · 2024 · $268,500

## Abstract

Poor sleep health (e.g., insufficient sleep duration, fragmented sleep, untreated sleep disorders) is associated
with increased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Poor sleep health also increases soluble Amyloid βeta and
tau concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid suggesting a potential mechanism for sleep disturbance to promote
AD pathogenesis. All of these could increase the risk for AD, meaning that poor sleep health and untreated
sleep disorders are potential catalysts for AD risk, and that improving sleep may be a modifiable target for AD
prevention among older adults. Sleep difficulties remain unaddressed among many older adults, especially
those in low resource settings, such as among residents of low-income housing facilities. Our team (the Sleep
Matters Initiative) has an established, effective Sleep Health and Wellness (SHAW) program, comprised of
sleep and sleep disorders education. We propose to expand the SHAW program to include mindfulness, the
Eastern practice of focused concertation in the present moment, which has been shown to improve sleep,
reduce stress, and strengthen cognitive function in older adults. Guided by User Centered Design, we will
conduct iterative stages of feedback from older adults and prototyping, that will ensure the sleep and
mindfulness messages and materials are accessible, usable, and feasible for cognitively unimpaired older
adults (age 55 years and above) in low-income housing in Boston. Given that networks of trusted other seniors
are essential sources of information and influence, we propose a novel social network approach, that will
identify opinion leaders in low-income housing facilities and engage these individuals as Sleep Health
Champions (SHCs) to aid in diffusing the adapted SHAW materials and resources through interpersonal
communication and small group sessions. Our objective in this R34 is to culturally adapt the SHAW and
mindfulness modules to the needs of cognitively unimpaired older adults in low-income housing facilities, then
conduct a feasibility and acceptability pilot study of the proposed social network approach to deliver the
adapted SHAW program to cognitively unimpaired older adults in low-income housing in Boston with the aim of
improving sleep, quality of life (QoL), and cognitive function. We will conduct the proposed planning activities
and feasibility study in close collaboration with our longtime partner, the City of Boston Age Strong
Commission. The culturally adapted SHAW and mindfulness program will be evaluated in a planned cluster
randomized controlled trial in cognitively unimpaired seniors in low-income housing in Boston on sleep health
behaviors, QoL, and cognitive function in a planned R01 that will be submitted in Year 3 of this award. It is
hypothesized that exposure to the adapted, SHC-deployed SHAW and mindfulness intervention in the planned
R01 will be associated with improved sleep, QoL, and markers of cognitive decline.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10979835
- **Project number:** 1R34AG089176-01
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Rebecca Robbins
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $268,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-30 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10979835

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10979835, Leveraging social networks to improve sleep and mindfulness among older adults in low-income housing (1R34AG089176-01). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-26 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/10979835. Licensed CC0.

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