 | | | | Related Healthscout Videos | |
|
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Getting enough Zzz's gets tougher as we get older.
While sleep patterns change as we age, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine says disturbed sleep and waking up tired every day are not normal. Several new studies highlight the problems poor sleep can create in the elderly.
One report finds persistent insomnia can lead to depression in the elderly, especially in those getting standard care for depression in primary care settings. The study looked at 1,801 elderly patients aged 60 or older with major depression. It shows patients with persistent insomnia were 1.8 to 3.5 times more likely to remain depressed compared with patients without insomnia.
Another new study finds older people with cognitive impairment are more likely to have sleep problems. The 102 participants were between the ages of 59 and 96, had a clinical diagnosis of cognitive impairment, slept an average of seven hours or less each night, and slept during the day for 30 minutes or longer. Results show 21.6 percent of them had at least one painful condition and 45.1 percent were diagnosed with depression.
Other recent research finds poorer sleep is associated with worse physical function in older women during the day. It shows women who slept less than six hours a night walked 3.5 percent slower than those who slept six to 6.8 hours. And those who slept seven-and-a-half or more hours took 4.1 percent longer to do five chair stands than those who slept 6.8 to seven-and-a-half hours.
Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep a night to perform at their best the next day, but it may be harder for older adults to meet that goal. Some tips that can help include setting a routine sleep schedule, avoiding substances that disturb your sleep -- such as alcohol or caffeine -- and keeping your bedroom dark, quiet and a little cool.
Sign up for a free weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs called First to Know by clicking here.
SOURCE: SLEEP, 2008
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
|
.gif)
