A renewed awareness towards self-directed age stereotyping in older adults has given rise to a line of research focused on the investigation of the influence of attitudes towards own ageing on seniors’ health and functioning (i.e., Levy, 2009). A key factor involved on older adults’ mental health is sleep quality (e.g., Park et al., 2014). Studies investigating self-reported sleep quality among older adults have suggested how this portion of the population would tend to accept disrupted sleep if believed to be up to standard for their age (Brouwer et al., 2005). On the other hand, dysfunctional beliefs towards sleep in ageing, might prompt older adults to report sleep disruption even in the absence of objective disrupted sleep (Macleod et al., 2018). To date, there are no empirical studies investigating a potential influence of age-based stereotypes on older adults’ attitudes towards sleep in ageing. This study aims to assess potential effects of behavioural nudges on older adults’ perceptions of sleep in ageing. More in detail, behavioural nudges implementing the representativeness heuristic will be used in order to assess how nudging self-stereotyping among adults aged 60+, can influence beliefs towards sleep in ageing and perceptions of sleep disturbances as a health threat. This study implements a randomised control trial (RCT) design. While previous research led by Levy implemented age based stereotypes presented at the implicit level of consciousness (e.g., Levy, 1996), this research will present age-based stereotypes at the explicit level, in compliance with nudge theory principles (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008).

Authors:
Serena Salvi, Northumbria University , United Kingdom
Dilek Onkal, Northumbria University, United Kingdom
Valerie Egdell, Northumbria University, United Kingdom

About the Presenter(s)
Serena Salvi is a PhD student at Northumbria University. Her research interests focus on the influence of self-ageism on health engagement. Her current research investigates how behavioural nudges can enhance awareness towards poor sleep in ageing.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/serena-salvi-40bb93160/

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