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Dynamic Interplay Between Sleep and Family Life: Review and Directions for Future Research

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Family Contexts of Sleep and Health Across the Life Course

Part of the book series: National Symposium on Family Issues ((NSFI,volume 8))

Abstract

As a conclusion to this volume, we synthesize recent sleep research presented at Penn State’s 2016 Family Symposium and present key directions for future research on sleep in the family context. Four lines of research are summarized as a foundation for family scholars interested in incorporating examination of sleep into their research: (1) evolutionary and biological perspectives on sleep, (2) sleep and individual development across the life course, (3) sleep and family relationships, and (4) social and structural influences on sleep. We complete our discussion by proposing three key directions for sleep research in a family context: examine how families influence sleep as well as how sleep influences families over the life course, to further illuminate the dynamic interplay between family contexts and the health and well-being of family members; apply new research designs and methods for examining sleep within the family system; and develop family-focused interventions to improve families’ sleep.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Soomi Lee

  2. Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Megan Lemmon

Authors
  1. Soomi Lee
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  2. Megan Lemmon
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Correspondence to Soomi Lee .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Social Science Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Susan M. McHale

  2. Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Valarie King

  3. Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Orfeu M. Buxton

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Lee, S., Lemmon, M. (2017). Dynamic Interplay Between Sleep and Family Life: Review and Directions for Future Research. In: McHale, S., King, V., Buxton, O. (eds) Family Contexts of Sleep and Health Across the Life Course. National Symposium on Family Issues, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64780-7_10

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