A study published in the November 1, 2009 issue of the journal Sleep shows that retirement is followed by a sharp decrease in the prevalence of sleep disturbances. Findings suggest that this general improvement in sleep is likely to result from the removal of work-related demands and stress rather than from actual health benefits of retirement.
A study in the October 1, 2009 issue of the journal Sleep shows elderly women sleep better than elderly men even though women consistently report their sleep is shorter and poorer. Women reported less and poorer sleep than men on all of the subjective measures, including a 13.2 minute shorter total sleep time (TST), 10.1 minute longer sleep onset latency (SOL), and a 4.2 percent lower sleep efficiency.
Increasingly severe sleep-related breathing disorders in older men appear to be associated with a greater risk of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), according to a report in the June 22, 2009, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, different types of breathing problems appear more closely associated with different categories of arrhythmia.
Sleep-disordered breathing is a common condition, according to background information in the article. It causes a number of physiologic events that could be stressful to the cardiovascular system, including inadequate blood oxygen levels at night and activation of the sympathetic nervous system (associated with the body’s fight-or-flight response).
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment seems to improve cognitive functioning in patients with Alzheimer’s disease who also suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, according to the results of a randomized clinical trial conducted at the University of California, San Diego.
The study led by Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and one of the nation’s preeminent experts in the field of sleep disorders and sleep research in aging populations was published in the November 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Women age 70 and older who sleep five hours or less per night may be more likely to experience falls than those who sleep more than seven to eight hours per night, according to a report in the September 8, 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. The use of sleep medications does not appear to influence the association between sleep and risk of falling.
“Falls pose a major health risk among older adults and are a leading cause of death, illness and premature nursing home placement,” according to background information in the article. About one-third of adults older than age 65 experience falls each year. Insomnia and disturbed sleep as well as the use of benzodiazepines — hypnotic medications to treat insomnia — are increasingly common in older adults.
Study results published in the September 1, 2008 issue of the journal Sleep shows that daytime sleeping during a rehabilitation stay predicts less functional recovery for older adults, with effects lasting as long as three months.
Results show that a higher percentage of daytime sleep during rehabilitation was significantly associated with less functional recovery from admission to discharge even after adjusting for other predictors such as mental status, hours of therapy received and reason for admission. More daytime sleeping during rehab remained a significant predictor of less functional recovery at a three-month follow-up.
A link between normal sleep and healthy aging has been found, according to a research abstract presented at Sleep 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.
The study, authored by Sonia Ancoli-Israel, PhD, of the University of California at San Diego, and colleagues, focused on 2,226 women 60 years of age or older.
The study, authored by Sonia Ancoli-Israel, PhD, of the University of California at San Diego, and colleagues, focused on 2,226 women 60 years of age or older.
Reports of use of sleeping aids, daytime somnolence, napping, sleep latency, sleep maintenance insomnia, early morning awakening, snoring, overall perceived sleep quality, and sleep duration were all assessed.
“A sedentary lifestyle increases the propensity to aging-related disease and premature death,” the authors write. “Inactivity may diminish life expectancy not only by predisposing to aging-related diseases but also because it may influence the aging process itself.”
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As of May 2, 2009 at 9:47 p.m. (-0500) (ET), the U.S. population
was 306,340,710. Sleep researchers estimate approximately seven percent
of the population suffers from obstructive sleep apnea. Using that
estimate, there are potentially 21,443,850 apneics in the U.S.
~~ Apnea around the world ~~
As of May 2, 2009 at 9:47 p.m. (-0500) (ET), the world population
was 6,777,286,604. Sleep researchers estimate approximately seven percent
of the population suffers from obstructive sleep apnea. Using that
estimate, there are potentially 474,410,062 apneics in the world.
