Our senior years should be a time of rest and relaxation, an easy time to enjoy ourselves and savor a lifetime memories. Without the pressure of work and raising a family, we might imagine that sleep problem would recede. But as all too many senior know, reality often takes quite a different turn. Sleep problems actually increase significantly as we age. In fact, more than half of all senior citizens complain of having problems sleeping.
Sadly, many senior don't seek treatment for sleep problems. They attribute poor memory, loss of sex drive, and daytime fatigue to the natural process of getting older. Sometimes, that is indeed the case. But, very often, a medical sleep disorder is the real cause. Treating the sleep problem can also lead to starting changes in a senior's life and overall happiness.
Many things get in the way of sleep among senior citizens. Medical sleep disorders become more common. The increased use of medication may cause side effects, contributing to poor sleep. And seniors suffer more medical and mental condition that can harm sleep. The good news is that effective treatments are available for all these sleep problems. Good sleep is possible at any age. The key is understanding the changes that take place in our sleeping as we age, and then getting to the root cause of problems when they arise.
Several changes occur in normal sleeping as we grow older. Deep sleep and dream sleep gradually decrease as we move from late adulthood to old age. We wake up at night more often, even more than the typical 12 to 15 times experienced during young adulthood.
Our sleep becomes, less efficient because we are awake for large percentage of the time we spend in bed. To make up for the less efficient sleep, we often start taking naps. Over time many senior citizens settle into a pattern of two daily naps. One at mid-morning, and one at mid-afternoon.
This resembles the sleep pattern of infants and young children. But seniors are not completely coming "full cycle" and returning to childhood sleep patterns. There are far more differences than similarities. For example, seniors don't need lots of sleep during a 24-hour period, as infants do. In fact, the amount of sleep we need declines as we age although there is some debate on this point.
For many years, it was as though we needed slightly less sleep as we grew older. In general, people sleep about 30 minutes less as senior citizens than they did as young adults. But new thinking is questioning whether sleeping less really means that seniors need less sleep. Studies have shown that people fall asleep in the daytime more easily during old age than they did as young adults.
Lack of sleep affects everyone, and older adults who don't get enough sleep increase their risk for depression, memory, attention and balance problems. Ask yourself these sleep questions, then check out the following tips for improving sleep. Contrary to a common misconception, seniors need just as much sleep as younger adults-about seven to nine hours per night-but it may be harder for seniors to get the sleep they need. If you are one of those people who find it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep, chances are you're not getting enough sleep every night. The following tips can help you stop tossing and turning and fall asleep faster:
Get rhythm. Teach your body to fall asleep by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Sticking to a regular schedule helps you fall asleep by keeping you in sync with your own circadian rhythm, a kind of internal 24-hour body clock that is affected by light and dark. Getting some natural light every afternoon will also help you keep your rhythm and help you fall asleep.
Exercise regularly and at the right time. Regular exercise can reduce tension and anxiety, which will help you fall asleep and improve the quality of your sleep, but be sure to finish exercising at least three hours before your bedtime.
Don't nap. Napping during the day may make it harder to fall asleep, or stay asleep.
Watch what you eat and drink. Drinking caffeinated or alcoholic beverages late in the day are likely to make it harder to fall asleep when you're ready. If you like a snack before bed, try a warm drink (without alcohol or caffeine) and a few crackers. Remember than hot chocolate which has caffeine, too.
Create a safe and comfortable sleeping environment. To help you fall asleep, your bedroom should be dark, with good ventilation, and as quiet as you can make it. For safety's sake, make sure you have a good bedside lamp that is easy to reach, a telephone for emergencies, and working smoke alarms in your bedroom and all through the house.
Follow your evening routine. Do the same things every night before you go to bed. Following a bedtime routine sends a silent signal to your brain and body that it is time to wind down and fall asleep.
Your bed is for sleep or sex. Your bedroom is for sleeping or for romantic interludes. It's not a media center, and not a home office. Avoid any distractions that make it harder to fall asleep.
Give yourself 20 minutes to fall asleep. If you're still awake 15 minutes after you turn out the light, get up and do something that will make you drowsy. Then go back to bed and try again.
Don't worry, get sleepy. To help yourself fall asleep faster, try not to let yourself worry or replay your day at bedtime. Don't forget to pray before going to sleep. That will give you a peace that can help. Don't panic if you can't fall asleep, because any kind of mental fretting will only make it harder to fall asleep. Instead, play mental games designed to relax your mind, or do something, like reading, that will refocus your thoughts and make drowsy. For years I kept a boring book handy, which was almost guaranteed to help me fall asleep. It worked so well that a friend borrowed it and didn't give it back!
Get professional help, if your inability to fall asleep starts to interfere with your ability to function normally, and persists for more than a couple of weeks. Schedule an appointment with your doctor or a sleep specialist.
Getting enough sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your mental and physical health-at any age. So teach yourself to fall asleep, sleep well, and have sweet dreams. I recently talked myself into thinking about things that are beautiful before going to sleep, or before starting my day. I thought about the beauty of butterflies, Laughing children, a quiet goat eating grass or a cow. I thought about the beauty of the ocean and it's sandy beach. I also thought about some good times I have had in the past. (Romantic, not necessarily sexual) You may want to remind yourself of a special vacation that brought you joy or the birth of one of your children. How about your wedding day?
Many seniors have trouble falling asleep. A study of adults over 65 found that 13 percent of men and 36 percent of women take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep. Older adults also wake up more often at night than younger adults, primarily to use the bathroom, owing to prostate enlargement in men and incontinence <http://seniorliving.about.com/od/healthnutrition/a/hrtincontinence.htm> issues in women.
Unfortunately, getting up at night to use the bathroom also increases the risk of falling <http://seniorliving.about.com/od/healthnutrition/a/fallstudy.htm>, which is a leading cause of injury and death <http://seniorliving.about.com/od/agerelateddisabilities/ss/fallingdown.htm> among seniors. Keep some night lights in that path on and maybe one in the bathroom. For seniors, loss of sleep is also likely to cause attention <http://seniorliving.about.com/od/keepyourmindshar1/a/concentration.htm> and memory problems, lead to depression, and result in a poorer quality of life.
Sleeplessness is Not Normal. While sleep patterns do change as people age, having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, and waking up tired every day are not typical side effects of aging. Many healthy seniors report few or no sleep problems as they age.
The National Institutes of Health web site includes a Sleep and Aging <http://nihseniorhealth.gov/sleepandaging/toc.html> section that provides detailed information about the importance of sleep for seniors, some of the sleep difficulties people encounter as they age, and the symptoms and treatment of various sleep disorders, such as insomnia <http://adam.about.com/reports/000027_7.htm>, sleep apnea <http://adam.about.com/reports/000065_4.htm?terms=sleep+apnea>, and movement disorders <http://adam.about.com/reports/000095_7.htm>.
