Sound Sleep is Elusive for Many Seniors
By Teresa Ambord
Sleep… glorious sleep. You’ve finally decided it’s time to quit working and retire and now you can sleep all you want. Except… sleep doesn’t come so easily anymore.
The fact is, many older adults have trouble sleeping. Those sitcoms that show the stereotype of senior citizens going to bed when the sun goes down and rising before the sun may be funny, but they’re not likely true for most senior citizens.
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) reports that nearly two thirds of seniors say that having trouble sleeping at least a few nights a week.
The more common problems are:
- difficulty falling asleep
- waking a lot during the night
- waking up early and not being able to get back to sleep
- waking up feeling unrefreshed
- snoring
- pauses in breathing
- unpleasant feelings in their legs
Another mistaken belief is that older people just don’t need the sleep. But studies show that older adults who are the healthiest are those who get regular, restful sleep in normal quantities. Those who say they are unable to get more than six hours of sleep most nights also report more health problems. Whatever your age, lack of sleep causes a loss of concentration and productivity and can put you in a bad mood.
Three common sleep disorders tend to trouble senior citizens.
Sixty percent of people over 65 say they have insomnia, that is, trouble falling or staying asleep a few nights a week.
Millions suffer from sleep apnea, a condition which causes breathing to stop during sleep, sometimes hundreds of times per night. In the worst cases, the soft tissue at the back of the throat collapses, closing the airway. A telltale sign is heavy snoring Untreated, sleep apnea can lead to serious problems, including heart attacks an strokes.
For more information, log onto: www.sleepapnea.org or call 202-293-3650.
A third sleeping disorder plaguing seniors is RLS, or restless leg syndrome. RLS feels like unpleasant sensations in the legs that causes sufferers an overwhelming urge to thrash their legs. Learn more about RLS by logging onto: RLS.org or calling 877-463-6757.
If you have trouble sleeping and you don’t know why, take a look at your habits and you may find the answer. Pay attention to what you eat or drink late in the afternoon, when you exercise, what you tend to do just before trying to sleep. Not everyone is bothered by caffeine, but if you have trouble sleeping, you might try a couple of weeks of no caffeine or alcohol after lunch, and see if that changes your ability to sleep. If heartburn keeps you awake or wakes you up, skip the tomato products and spicy foods after lunch. Heartburn is exacerbated when you lay down and wreak havoc on your sleep.
Here are a few other things to consider that may help you sleep better:
- Napping: if you need to nap, try to do it early in the day and keep it short.
- Medication: if your medications interfere with your sleep, talk to your doctor about lowering the dosage or at least changing the time of day you take it.
- Snack: stick with dairy products or breads and cereals that have ingredients that induce sleepiness. But don’t eat too much of anything. That uncomfortably full feeling can make you miserable just when you need to relax.
- Schedule: going to bed at the same time and rising at the same time will get your body into a pattern that signals it is time to sleep or wake.
- Exercise: keep it regular, but finish at least 3 hours before bedtime so your body has a chance to cool down.
- Routine: get into a routine of relaxing bedtime activities, like a half hour of reading or writing a letter or taking a hot bath. That establishes a signal in your brain that it is time to sleep.
- Physical environment: make your sleep area as much to your liking as possible, comfortable, and dark and quiet if that’s what works for you, or subtle night light and white noise.