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Links between household and family social dynamics with sleep profiles among BaYaka foragers of the Congo Basin

Gettler, Lee T; Samson, David R; Kilius, Erica; Sarma, Mallika S; Ouamba, Yann R; Miegakanda, Valchy; Boyette, Adam H; Lew-Levy, Sheina

Authors

Lee T Gettler

David R Samson

Erica Kilius

Mallika S Sarma

Yann R Ouamba

Valchy Miegakanda

Adam H Boyette



Abstract

Given the contributions of sleep to a range of health outcomes, there is substantial interest in ecological and environmental factors, including psychosocial contexts, that shape variation in sleep between individuals and populations. However, the links between social dynamics and sleep are not well-characterized beyond Euro-American settings, representing a gap in knowledge regarding the way that local socio-ecological conditions interrelate with sleep profiles across diverse settings. Here, we focused on data from a subsistence-level society in Republic of the Congo to test for links between the household/family social environment and sleep measures. Specifically, we used actigraphy-derived sleep data (N = 49; 318 nights) from two community locations (a village and rainforest camp) among BaYaka foragers, who are members of a remote, non-industrialized subsistence society in the Congo Basin. We drew on social dynamics that have been previously linked to sleep variation in Euro-American contexts, including: household crowding, same surface cosleeping, and marital conflict. We examined the following sleep measures: total sleep time (TST), total 24-h sleep time (TTST), and sleep quality (fragmentation). BaYaka adults had shorter and lower quality sleep when their shared sleeping space was more crowded. In the village, parents with breastfeeding-aged infants had longer TTST and higher quality sleep than adults without infants, contrasting with results from other cultural contexts. Based on peer rankings of marital conflict, husbands showed longer and higher quality sleep in less conflicted marriages. Women showed the opposite pattern. These counter-intuitive findings for women may reflect the limitations of the measurement for wives' marital experiences. In total, these results point to the importance of considering local socio-ecological conditions to sleep profiles and underscore the need for expanded study of sleep and health outcomes in settings where shared sleep in constrained space is routine practice.

Citation

Gettler, L. T., Samson, D. R., Kilius, E., Sarma, M. S., Ouamba, Y. R., Miegakanda, V., …Lew-Levy, S. (2022). Links between household and family social dynamics with sleep profiles among BaYaka foragers of the Congo Basin. Social Science & Medicine, 311, Article 115345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115345

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 30, 2022
Online Publication Date Sep 9, 2022
Publication Date 2022-10
Deposit Date Sep 11, 2023
Journal Social Science \& Medicine
Print ISSN 0277-9536
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 311
Article Number 115345
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115345
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1734421