Aging And Sleep |
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It has been seen that over half of women and men who more than sixty-five years of age have some or the other complain about sleep. In fact, many seniors and people who are aging suffer from insomnia or some other type of sleep disorder.
As a person ages, his or her sleep patterns alter. Usually, an older person will sleep less, have short periods of sleep, and have reduced REM sleep compared to a younger person. However, even for an older person, sleep is important as it required for optimum physical health as well as emotional wellbeing of a person.
So, what is the connection between aging and sleep? Why do older people have sleep problems? There are many reasons for this. One of them is having bad sleeping and waking up patterns. This can disrupt a person's circadian rhythm and make it difficult for the person to have normal sleep. Another reason for sleep problems in older people is taking medications. Some medications make it difficult for a person to fall off to sleep. Psychological and psychiatric problems also have an effect on the quality of sleep as well as the quantity. Any stress or death of a dear one can cause problems with sleep. However, one of the major causes of sleep problems in older people is retirement. When a person retires, he is not that active during the day. As a result, he is not physically or mentally fatigued to fall off to sleep. This can cause problems with the sleeping and waking up patterns and also lead to chronic problems where sleep is concerned.
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