Perception of Time, Sleep Patterns, And Activity in Senior Citizens: A Test of a Rogerian Theory of Aging‪.‬

ABSTRACT With the increasing percentages of elderly people in the population of the United States, an understanding of their development becomes critical to the delivery of effective nursing care. Utilizing a Rogerian theory of aging this study was undertaken to describe the relationships among perception of time, sleep patterns, and activity, a potential intervening variable. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was utilized to solicit a volunteer sample for this level II descriptive study of men and women 55-94 years of age (n = 221) at a local Senior Citizens Center. Although the theory of aging was not supported in this sample, analysis of the data did reveal important findings. Significant relationships included activity to perception of time and activity to movement during sleep. Since activity was a significant intervening variable in relation to perception of time and sleep patterns in this elderly group, this beginning descriptive study suggests activity may be a better marker for aging than chronological age in studies of human development in aging populations. Limitations of the study are acknowledged in the conclusion, and theoretical questions are raised along with recommendations for future research.