Sleep Difficulties

Older people have more problems with sleep than any other age group. According to the results of a study by the National Institute on Aging, sleep problems among older adults include difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep all night, waking up very early and daytime sleepiness. These problems may not be normal and should be carefully investigated. The most common causes of wakefulness at night are not enough exercise or too much alcohol at bedtime but there can be hidden physical problems too.

Sleep Disorders

There are actually more than fifty kinds of sleep disorders. Most of them can be managed and treated. The most common are Insomnia, Sleep Apnea, Restless Legs Syndrome and Narcolepsy.

Insomnia really just means less good sleep. In older adults often have poor sleep quality. They are more likely to sleep shallowly, wake after a few hours to relieve the bladder, and suffer from depression or chronic pain.

Sleep Apnea is interrupted breathing during sleep. It can be caused by loss of muscle tone, allowing the windpipe to collapse when muscles relax during sleep. The strangling person then wakes just enough to tighten the muscles and open the windpipe. This can happen hundreds of times each night leading to snoring, daytime sleepiness and headache.

Restless Leg Syndrome means that the legs feel uncomfortable and moving around provides the only relief. Often it begins after going to bed for the night but can show up during the daytime too. There is no known cause and the symptoms get worse as we get older.

Narcolepsy is most often described as "falling asleep suddenly in the middle of things." Not all people who suffer from Narcolepsy have this symptom. Sometimes the effect is overwhelming sleepiness or feeling weak in the knees.