Contrary to popular belief, older people need as much sleep as younger adults. Dr. Harrison G. Bloom, associate clinical professor of geriatrics and medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, “sleep problems and sleep disorders are not an inherent part of aging. It’s pretty much a myth that older people need less sleep than younger people”.

According to Dr. John Penek, the director of the Sleep Disorder Center at Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pequannock, N.J,.: “Sleep quality starts to deteriorate in the mid-20s”. The older we get the more our sleep is interrupted by aches and pains, heartburn or the need to use the bathroom. There is also an increase in the incidence of restless leg syndrome (RLS) and sleep apnea.

Older people also tend to take multiple medications which can lead to fatigue and “hypersomnia”, which is being tired all the time. Other major issues that can result in sleep disorders are depression and anxiety.

Since most physicians get very little training about sleep disorders they rarely screen their patients for them. This means that chronic problems like RLS, sleep apnea, insomnia go undiagnosed and untreated.

One of the sleep disorders that can be easily treated once it has been diagnosed is rapid eye movement (REM) behavioral disorder. during the REM stage of sleep, the body becomes paralyzed except for the eyes and diaphragm. This is the phase of sleep where the events of the day are processed into memories. The paralysis is how the body is prevented from physically acting out the dreams.

In REM sleep disorder the paralysis does not occur and the dreams are acted out. This is a more common disorder in men and it can result in injury to their sleep partners.

Since sleep disorders affect elderly people more than the general population, a national coalition has been formed by aging, geriatric medicine and sleep organizations to develop guidelines which promote the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sleep problems in older adults.

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