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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Experts say about one-third of older adults experience dangerous falls each year -- and a new study says lack of sleep may be exacerbating the problem.
A study at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute shows women age 70 and older who sleep five hours or less per night may be more likely to fall than those who sleep more than seven or eight hours per night.
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After measuring sleep, sleep efficiency and frequency of falls, researchers found the risk of having two or more falls during the following year was higher for women who slept five hours or less per night. They also found those who used benzodiazepines (Valium) were 1.3 times more likely to fall.
It is not established whether it is poor sleep or medications used to treat sleep disturbances that explain the increased risk of falls in those who are prescribed such medications, researchers wrote.
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2008;168:1768-1775
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