# How do night-time awakenings, assistive technologies, and help-seeking behaviors impact the sleep of Australian carers? A cross-sectional study

## TL;DR

Australian carers who experience frequent night-time awakenings or seek help for sleep issues tend to have poorer sleep quality, despite using assistive technologies.

## Contribution

The study identifies the impact of night-time awakenings and help-seeking behaviors on carer sleep quality, despite available technologies.

## Key findings

- Carers with more than two awakenings per night had poorer sleep quality (η² = 0.06).
- Assistive technology use was not linked to better sleep quality (Cohen’s d = -0.04).
- Carers who sought help for sleep problems had worse sleep quality (Cohen’s d = 0.67).

## Abstract

Informal carers may experience poor sleep outcomes due to the demands of their role. This study explored the association between the number of night-time awakenings, assistive technology use, and help-seeking behaviors on the sleep quality of adult carers.

An online quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was utilised. Participants (n = 152) included Australian carers aged 18 to 64 years who obtained inadequate sleep hours (< 7 h per night).

Carers who reported more than two awakenings per night (48.5%) had poorer sleep quality, as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, when compared to carers who reported no awakenings (η² = 0.06). The use of assistive technology was not associated with improved sleep quality (Cohen’s d = − 0.04). Carers who reported help-seeking for sleep problems also reported poorer sleep quality compared to carers who had not sought help (Cohen’s d = 0.67).

These findings indicate that despite the availability of both assistive technologies and various help-seeking sources (e.g., general practitioners, psychologists), carers still experience poor sleep. With an aim to reduce carer burden, future research should investigate ways to decrease night-time awakenings for carers, examine the effect of care-recipient condition on the relationship between assistive technology use and carer sleep quality, and employ a longitudinal study design to evaluate the efficacy of help-seeking strategies for carer sleep.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-026-07024-6.