Abstracts

Seniors

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Predictors of observed sleep/wakefulness in residents in long-term care

Article Abstract:

A number of factors may account for the fact that many residents of nursing homes spend a great deal of time sleeping. Prolonged inactivity, drugs, and dementia may all result in sleepiness or grogginess in these elderly individuals. A number of variables were examined for their ability to predict sleep or wakefulness in a population of 39 residents of a skilled nursing facility. The ages of the patients ranged from 75 to 99 and included 25 women and 14 men. The subjects were monitored over a two-week period for two 12-hour periods at night and two 12-hour periods during the day. The mental status of the patients was measured by the Mini-Mental State Exam. General physiological measurements were taken, and psychoactive drugs, if given, were noted. The factors examined included mental status, functional capacity, likelihood of physical disease (such as cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, or endocrine disease), psychotropic drugs, and sleep apnea (a disorder characterized by cessation of breathing during sleep). Sleep apnea was a positive independent predictor of sleep among these patients, and was not related to the presence of other factors. Other factors were found to be influential in predicting sleep, but sleep apnea was the only consistent predictor. Possible applications as well as the overall validity of the use of this technique for further studies are discussed, along with other factors which may be helpful in predicting frequencies of sleep and wakefulness in these patients. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Complications and side effects, Physiological aspects, Sleep, Nursing home patients, Sleep apnea syndromes, Sleep apnea, Wakefulness

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A preliminary study comparing sleep restriction and relaxation treatments for insomnia in older adults

Article Abstract:

Insomnia is a major problem that afflicts the elderly; medications are often prescribed to induce sleep, but the drugs tend to lose their effectiveness with time and can have significant side effects. Psychological therapies have been used successfully to treat insomnia in younger people, but their use in the elderly has not been thoroughly studied. This study examined two non-drug therapies for insomnia in the elderly: relaxation therapy utilizing muscle tension and release (RLT), and sleep restriction therapy (SRT). Subjects were selected from a group of adults who were 50 years or older and were dissatisfied with their sleep; the average age was 70 years. Results were obtained from 22 subjects, 10 treated with SRT and 12 treated with RLT. Treatment lasted for four weeks, with a three-month follow-up period. Results showed that during the treatment period, both the time required to fall asleep and waking after falling asleep were reduced in both groups. The SRT subjects decreased time in bed and increased sleep efficiency during treatment, and these effects were maintained through follow-up, but this was not seen in the RLT group. Total sleep time increased in both groups from the end of treatment through follow-up, with increases twice as great in the SRT group as in the RLT group. These results indicate that psychological therapies, particularly SRT, may be useful in treating insomnia in the elderly. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Insomnia, Sleep-wake cycle

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Perceptions of life stress and chronic insomnia in older adults

Article Abstract:

Comparison of the degree of self-reported stress of aged good and poor sleepers with respect to the degree of perceived stress, ratings of sleep and negative mood reveals similar levels of life stress in both groups but a different relationship between life stress and sleep perception. Among poor sleepers, subjects with higher life stress reported more problems falling asleep than subjects with lower life stress. Life stress failed to affect the sleep rates of good sleepers.

Analysis, Stress (Psychology), Insomniacs

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