Sleeping Problems in the Elderly

 Seniors Sleep Disorders

Sleeping problems in seniors may involve a number of factors such as: decreased energy output as a result of retirement,the age of the person, their state of health, and any prescription drugs they may be taking for health problems. Bereavement may be a contributing factor, the loss of a lifetime partner in an elderly person, more often than not, can result in a  downward slide in their health, their sleeping problems proving difficult to manage without at least some form of short term medication.

Illness disrupts sleeping patterns in the elderly, and may result in increased awakenings due to physical discomfort, caused by urinary urgency,cramps, angina, chronic obstructive airways disease, and left ventricular failure, these may be some of the many illnesses which cause sleeping problems in the elderly.

An elderly person may become very anxious about a change in their sleeping pattern, however, it will be necessary to thoroughly investigate the problem in order to ascertain if this perceived sleeping problem, causes dysfunction in their waking activities. If the elderly person has a carer, or lives with family then the problem may be easier to assess, for what appears to be a problem may only be a normal change in sleeping pattern for the age.

The most frequently occurring sleeping problem in the elderly is sleep latency, the person may spend some hours in bed before sleep occurs.  The elderly person may view this as a problem and request sleeping pills, whereas, all that is needed is to teach them how to reorganize their lives to cope with the changes in sleeping patterns they are experiencing.

Reduced energy output as a result of retirement with an increased opportunity to take naps, either as a result of boredom or just plain exhaustion, may contribute to reduced quality of night-time sleep.
The pressure of a normal working day has been taken away, so the energy output is considerably less, while this may be offered as a possible reason for sleep latency, many others factors may be involved.

There may be much confusion about sleep latency, the difficulty may be exaggerated because the person who experiences it may be convinced that unless they have 8 hours of quality sleep, they will become ill. Sometimes it is difficult to convince an elderly person that they no longer require 8 hours of unbroken sleep, but may be better served by a shorter night time sleep supplemented with day time naps.       

So how can sleeping problems in the elderly be resolved?  Firstly it is necessary to provide a warm comfortable noise free environment, if this is available then the addition of regular exercise, combined with a healthy diet may be all that is needed to resolve the sleeping problem. However, if the previous measures fail to help, many other modalities are available to help the person .

Reflexology offers a very  gentle and effective aid to sleep , and aromatherapy  has proven to be very successful to assist relaxation and sleep in the elderly. Both of these modalities have been used in nursing homes and have been found to assist not only sleep, but the general well-being of the patients.

Sleeping problems in the elderly should be thoroughly investigated before any medications are prescribed. Unfortunately this is not always the procedure that is adopted, for often a script is written for what has been described as insomnia by the elderly person, however, such is mostly not the case, but rather it's a normal progression or a  resetting of the circadian rhythms as people age which requires education, not medication.

Provided that there is no evidence of disease of the central nervous system, such as dementia, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic brain damage, and chronic pain, then sleeping problems in the elderly are far better managed conservatively.

Exactly how this may be managed depends on whether the elderly person lives alone, lives with family, or is in a nursing home. If the elderly person lives alone then it is most important that sedatives should not be given, for any side effects from the medication may go unreported  and so ultimately endanger the person's health.

 Some sleeping medications may cause confusion, disorientation, dizziness, and irrational fears, any of these symptoms could result in harm to the elderly person. Living with family is the better option , this allows for accurate observation of the sleeping problem, and the opportunity to establish a healthier sleeping routine without the assistance of medication.

Unfortunately for the elderly who are in nursing homes, their sleeping problems are usually managed with medication, the interests of the usually poorly staffed nursing homes take priority over the health of the senior person.

Read more:Dementia Sleep Disorder