Sleep Patterns And Ageing

As we grow older, almost all of us will go through drastic bodily changes that will consequently have an effect on how we sleep.

These changes become more pronounced as we age and may also be influenced by preexisting conditions such as chronic illness or side effects of a medication.

Thus, sleep issues are relatively common among people aged 45 and up.

Epidemiological studies indicate that the majority of adults sleep between 5 to 7 hours on average which is lower than the expected healthy average of 8 hours and thus can play a role in affecting one’s overall wellbeing to some degree.

A study done by the University of Pennsylvania in 2014 also found that seniors took an average of 30 minutes more to fall asleep than those in the mid-20s and early 30s.

Sleeping disorders can be broadly classified into two categories.

Dyssomnias, which is a condition that either affects one’s ability to stay awake or causes extreme drowsiness.

Common examples of dyssomnia are insomnia and sleep apnea.

Parasomnias on the other hand are irregularities that are common with the subject while sleeping, for e.g. sleepwalking and night terrors.

This post will discuss some of the more typical sleeping conditions that can be seen with age as well as other factors that can affect the quality of sleep.

We will also look at possible solutions and medical treatments that will give us some relief.

Insomnia and its effects on ageing.

Insomnia is medically defined as the inability to generate and experience restorative sleep patterns that are regular and attuned to the circadian rhythm.

Insomnia has quickly become one of the top issue for a lot of people in the United States who are over the age of 60.

The most common symptoms that are generally associated with insomnia among seniors are as follows:

The term short-term insomnia is often used to describe the initial symptoms of a setting insomnia.

Doctors usually diagnose and treat their patients for chronic insomnia if the symptoms of short-term insomnia persist for more than 30 days.

In many instances though, the secondary insomnia remains with the patients even after the root cause of their problems were treated.

Insomnia comes in many forms and although people may experience it based on how strongly they are affected by it, there are broadly two symptoms of insomnia that stand out: Sleep onset insomnia, where the subject has trouble falling asleep and sleep maintenance insomnia, where the subject is unable to remain asleep for the entirety of the night and keeps waking up.

Insomnia is usually diagnosed either as a primary or secondary disorder based off your experiences.

Primary insomnia is generally thought of to be a standalone condition that arises on its own.

Secondary insomnia is mostly brought on as a result of multiple physiological and psychological factors.

What is Insomnia?

Most doctors agree that the insomnia seniors face in most cases are secondary conditions that are brought about by either stress or preexisting medical conditions or side effects of prescription drugs.

Insomnia has been linked to directly affect our sleep architecture.

Sleep architecture can be defined as the natural progression of sleep through the night. It usually is made of three distinct elements:

Most adults are hardwired to cycle through the REM and non-REM phases every 90 to 120 minutes.

This is what is commonly known as the circadian rhythm. In most adults, the amplitude of this rhythm tends to decrease with age.

These can cause incremental changes to the sleep architecture that can later affect how well we sleep and if we suffer from insomnia.

On average, the elderly go through lower amounts of slow wave sleep and increased levels of light sleep. The REM sleep magnitudes decline by an average of 10 minutes for every decade of your life above the age of 45.

One notable problem that a lot of elderly people experience is the lack of thermoregulation within their bodies.

Thermoregulation can be defined as the body’s way of keeping a stable core temperature. This can play a vital role in our sleep patterns since perfect body temperature is imperative to a good night’s sleep.

Also, our body temperature rises in the mornings and then goes down gradually throughout the day until it is time to go to bed.

If our body temperature is messed with, it sends the wrong signal to the brain, causing us to feel sleepy while it’s still bright and sunny or unable to get some shuteye even when it’s nighttime.

This is commonly known as circadian desynchronization and this can put people in risk of insomnia and other concerning sleep issues as well as hypothermia and hyperthermia in select times of the year.

A wide range of illnesses and medical conditions that are commonly associated with old age can also lead to secondary insomnia. These include the following:

Conditions like depression, anxiety, and some other psychiatric disorders too are linked with insomnia and have been shown to adversely affect the subject’s sleep patterns.

However, no relation has been found yet on these psychiatric conditions being directly responsible for bringing about insomnia in the patients.

Bad sleep hygiene can also expedite insomnia and amplify its effects. Elderly people are more prone to taking naps during the day and spend more time on the bed on average than someone in their mid-20s.

Insomnia can have serious consequences on patients. Adults with acute insomnia regularly experience drowsiness and the lack of focus.

Their motor skills and general efficiency is also adversely affected.

This can put such patients at a higher risk of falling, accidents and other dangerous situations. Long term effects of insomnia can lead to irritability and chronic headaches.

Other sleep problems and aging.

Notwithstanding insomnia, more aged individuals are viewed as increasingly susceptible to other dyssomnia and parasomnia sleep issues.

One of the most widely recognized dyssomnia issue in more aged grown-ups is sleep apnea.

This condition is described by brief loss of breath for as long as 60 seconds during sleep; because of its problematic nature, apnea can extraordinarily influence circadian rhythm.

There are two characterizations for the confusion:

obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which influences breathing by hindering the air route; and central sleep apnea (CSA), which is activated by inappropriate signaling between the brain and breathing muscles.

OSA is the more typical of the two; generally 24% of more aged ladies and 9% of more aged men have been determined to have obstructive sleep apnea.

Cardiovascular disease is a genuine worry for individuals with sleep apnea.

These two conditions are regularly paired, and more aged individuals with one are bound to likewise get the other.

Obstructive sleep apnea is viewed as an indicator for coronary vein sickness, and has likewise been related with conditions like hypertension, cardiovascular breakdown, stroke and heart arrhythmia.

Central sleep apnea has been broadly reported in patients with congestive cardiovascular breakdown, also.

An ongoing report by the American Heart Association contended that people who deal with constant sleep fragmentation are at higher risk for arteriosclerosis, or solidifying of the arteries of the heart.

The study likewise drew a connection between long term sleep discontinuity and significant levels of localized necrosis, or tissue death brought about by oxygen depletion.

Both arteriosclerosis and dead tissues are viewed as indicators for stroke and cognitive weakness.

Narcolepsy is a dyssomnia issue portrayed by daytime tiredness and lethargy, or the powerful urge to sleep.

This can cause scenes known as ‘sleep assaults’, during which the individual will unexpectedly nod off paying little respect to their present area or time of day.

Other narcolepsy side effects incorporate routine hypnagogic mental trips, which as a rule happen when somebody is nodding off or awakening;

cataplexy, which alludes to an unconstrained loss of control; and sleep loss of motion, or the powerlessness to physically move after waking.

A diagnosis of Narcolepsy Type 1 or 2 is rare at any age, and for most afflicted people starts to show in the mid-teens, with sleepiness and related side effects frequently intensifying with age. It can sometimes peak at ages 45-60.

Restless legs syndrome,

is another dyssomnia commonly suffered by older sleepers.

The individuals who experience this condition regularly report a tingling sensation underneath the skin, some of the time joined by shivering, cramping, or physical pain.

These indications normally set in around sleep time and can prompt sleep-onset insomnia.

The condition known as periodic limb movement disorder has indistinguishable side effects from restless legs syndrome, however, there is one unmistakable distinction: periodic limb movement disorder just influences individuals during sleep, which can prompt sleep discontinuity and additionally circadian disturbance.

Snoring is one of the most generally analyzed parasomnia issues among grown-ups.

Seniors are especially inclined to snoring, because of debilitated airway muscles that help direct appropriate breathing during sleep.

While snoring doesn’t regularly convey any life-or wellbeing compromising concerns, the condition is viewed as an indicator for increasingly major issues like stroke or coronary illness.

Also, the condition known as REM sleep behavior disorder is regularly analyzed in individuals beyond 60 years old; the confusion is related to some age-related neurological conditions, for example, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Individuals with the disorder can’t completely work their muscles during REM sleep when most dreaming happens.

This brief loss of motion can make them whip or thrash their limbs, stand up or stroll around; a few patients have revealed progressively irregular schedules, for example, eating or washing while still asleep.

Since we have talked about dyssomnias, parasomnias, and other sleep-related conditions that regularly influence more aged individuals, we should take a gander at some prominent sleep aids and other treatment techniques.

Sleep aids for seniors.

An expected 20% of seniors take some type of sleep aid for long term insomnia and other interminable sleep-related issues.

A wide scope of medicine classifications and types are accessible in the United States, and every classification conveys an extraordinary set of impacts, qualities and side effects.

You ought to talk to your doctor before taking any kind of sleep aid just to be safe.

First how about we handle the fundamental sleep aid classifications. Reactions, hazards and other data about explicit meds can be found in the tables beneath.

• Benzodiazepine Hypnotics: Benzodiazepine receptor agonists (known as BzRAs, or ‘benzos’, for short) are a gathering of doctor-prescribed medications that hinder the body’s central nervous system (CNS) through communication with gamma-aminobutyric corrosive (GABA) synapses. Benzodiazepines are viewed as minor sedatives that can be utilized to kill nervousness and incite sleep. Nonetheless, because of the quality of these medications, most aged patients start their routine at half of the prescribed portion than for more youthful patients. Benzos additionally display risky interactions with liquor, so patients ought to never blend the two. Generally endorsed sorts of benzodiazepine incorporate the accompanying:

• Temazepam: Sold under the brand Restoril®, temazepam decreases uneasiness and triggers muscle unwinding. It is generally recommended for sleep upkeep, however, viewed as less successful at helping sleep-onset insomnia.

• Loprazolam: This medication is regularly endorsed for extreme cases of insomnia, and ought not to be utilized to address minor sleep issues. Because of loprazolam’s long half-life, users may feel over the top sleepiness and absence of focus for the day in the wake of taking it. Brands incorporate Dormonoct® and Havlane®.

• Flurazepam: Like loprazolam, flurazepam has a long half-life and is only prescribed as a sleep aid in instances of serious insomnia. It is sold under the brand name Dolmane®.

• Clonazepam: clonazepam is viewed as an exceptionally intense benzodiazepine with lesser narcotic impacts. It is regularly used to treat sleep conditions like restless leg syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome. Clonazepam is sold as Klonopin® in the U.S.

• Diazepam: Sold in the U.S. as Valium®, diazepam is utilized to treat a wide scope of conditions, including short term sleep deprivation.

• Lorazepam: Like diazepam, lorazepam (sold as Ativan®) can be utilized as a sleep aid for individuals with short term insomnia. Because of its exceptionally addictive nature, most doctors won’t endorse the medication for long term use.

• Nitrazepam: This medication is generally endorsed for individuals with momentary sleep deprivation, however, can likewise be utilized to oversee epilepsy. Nitrazepam is sold under the brand name Mogadon®.

• Estazolam: Due to its transitional half-life, estazolam (sold as ProSom®) is still broadly endorsed as a sleep deprivation treatment.

• Other benzodiazepine sedates that can be utilized as sleep aids incorporate Alprazolam (Xanax®) and Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol®). Be that as it may, these medications are once in a while endorsed for sleep deprivation because of their profoundly addictive nature.

Related questions.

Should I take over the counter medication if I am having trouble sleeping?

If you are having regular trouble sleeping, try out some natural ways to reset your body’s circadian rhythm.

If you feel that they aren’t helping, have a word with your primary care physician. In any case, avoid self-prescribing.

Medicines, especially that induce sleep, should be given after a detailed analysis of your medical history and you just won’t have enough information to make an educated decision as to what medicine is best for you.

Therefore, if natural ways fail to work for you, always talk to your physician and ask him to recommend the best course of action.