Abstract
The most common complaints of older adults concern their difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, which results in insufficient sleep and an increased risk of falls, difficulty with concentration and memory, and overall decreased quality of life. Difficulties sleeping are not, however, an inevitable part of aging. Rather, the sleep complaints are often comorbid with medical and psychiatric illness, associated with the medications used to treat those illnesses, or the result of circadian rhythm changes or other sleep disorders. Health care professionals specializing in geriatrics need to learn to recognize the different causes of sleep disturbances in this population and to initiate appropriate treatment. Nonpharmacological treatment techniques are discussed; pharmacological treatments are discussed in a companion article.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
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Review
MeSH terms
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Accidental Falls / prevention & control
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Aged
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Cognition Disorders / diagnosis
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Cognition Disorders / drug therapy
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Cognition Disorders / epidemiology
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Comorbidity
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Cross-Sectional Studies
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Diagnosis, Differential
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Humans
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Polysomnography
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Psychotropic Drugs / adverse effects
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Psychotropic Drugs / therapeutic use
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Quality of Life / psychology
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Risk Factors
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Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / diagnosis
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Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / drug therapy
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Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / epidemiology
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Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / etiology
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Sleep Wake Disorders / diagnosis*
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Sleep Wake Disorders / drug therapy
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Sleep Wake Disorders / epidemiology
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Sleep Wake Disorders / etiology