It’s quite common to see that as people age, they tend to find it increasingly difficult to find a good night’s sleep. You might have seen your parents or grandparents complain about not sleeping well at night. Now, experts suggest that “normal aging” does bring some changes in sleep patterns. For instance, elders might start feeling Sleep Problems in the evening or tend to sleep less deeply than they were young.
However, when elders start to complain about fewer and fewer good-sleep nights, it is a sign of sleep disorder!
Research estimates that around 40% to 70% of elders suffer chronic sleep problems, and half are unaware of it. This post will cover top sleep issues in older adults to give you a heads-up about their condition and preventive measures, thus, you can take them.
Let’s five into it without further delay!
What are the Common Sleep Problems that Get Worse with Age?
Sleep disorder is basically described as a condition that impairs your sleep or prevents you from getting restorative sleep and, as such, lead to daytime sleepiness and other health-related problems. Though every person from time-to-time experiences issues with sleep, you have a sleep disorder or problem if you show the following signs –
- You regularly find it difficult to close your eyes and sleep
- You are tired during the day despite logging seven hours of sleep
- You have impaired or reduced ability to carry out day-to-day tasks
Many people suffer from them, and as you age, they worsen with time. Here are some of the common sleep disorders –
1. Insomnia
Having continuing difficulty in staying or falling asleep is Insomnia, one of the most common sleep disorders troubling older adults.
Now, insomnia is also of two types, acute and chronic.
As the name suggests, acute or short-term last from typically one night to a few weeks. It could be caused by illness, stress, or environmental factors such as light, noise, soreness or temperature. In contrast, chronic insomnia lasts for a month or becomes a permanent part of your life.
If muscle or joint soreness is responsible for a lack of proper sleep, you can switch your traditional mattress to the best mattress for back pain.
2. Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea is a sleep-related breathing disorder that is highly prevalent in older adults. This disorder is most commonly observed in patients in nursing homes with Dementia. That said, obesity, smoking, and high alcohol consumption contribute to this disorder over time.
It is a condition in which your breathing is interrupted while sleeping and is further classified into two kinds – obstructive and central. The former occurs because of blockage in the airway, while the latter is caused when your brain forgets to tell your body to breathe during sleep.
Moreover, Obstructive Sleep Apnea often causes snoring in seniors, leading to nighttime arousal – a shift from deep to light sleep and excessive daytime drowsiness.
Besides, this disorder can also leave room for other severe heart health conditions.
3. Restless leg Syndrome
RLS, or restless leg syndrome, is the sudden urge to move your leg while sleeping or resting. Though the condition can start at any age, it usually gets worse with age and typically affects middle and older adults.
RLS has been associated with anxiety, depression, and sleep-onset Insomnia. It leads to undisturbed sleep as you have the unexpected urge to wake up and move your leg around sometimes in the middle of the night.
An ortho mattress or orthopedic mattress that offers a high level of comfort, support and pressure relief can come in handy over here. Though it won’t cure RLS, it can help alleviate its symptoms so you can give your body the rest it deserves.
4. REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
REM is the stage of sleeping where you witness intense dreams. As such, REM sleep disorder or RBD is a condition in which people physically enact their dreams. This can also include violent movements that risk the sleeper and their partner. It happens when the brain chemical, which is supposed to paralyze your muscle during REM, does not function effectively.
RBD is found to be unusually common in elder folks. There is also a relation between this sleep disorder and conditions such as Dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
It is a little difficult to treat this disorder in seniors as BZD medications are advised as treatment. That said, certain precautions can be taken by optimizing the safety of bedrooms. Measures include locking windows, placing a mattress on the floor, and removing sharp objects.
However, since seniors are often victims of muscle and joint pain, it is best to buy an orthopedic mattress to place on the floor. And for its protection, you can also buy a queen-size foam mattress topper.
5. Pain
Not a specific sleep disorder, but pain and discomfort often lead to inadequate rest for seniors.
Basically, sleeplessness and pain can together form a vicious cycle in which less sleep leads to more pain, and more pain leads to no or little sleep. It is, therefore, essential to consult a health practitioner if your pain has frequently started messing up your sleep.
Common discomfort that troubles older adults is basically many forms of arthritis and related conditions such as stiffness, back pain, and swelling. Many factors are responsible for that, but not many people know that their mattress could be one of them. If your bed is too firm or soft, it can exacerbate joint pain leading to restless nights and sore mornings.
Luckily, you have the best orthopedic mattress for back pain or the best orthopedic mattress for lower back pain that is medium-firm, conforming to your body shape and relieving pressure to promote sound sleep.
Final Thoughts
Ageing affects every person differently. While some seniors find no changes in their sleeping patterns, others complain about getting less quality sleep. In this condition, you should take them to a doctor for assessment to discover the sleep disorder wreaking havoc in their life.
You can also change their sleeping environment, starting with the mattress. Check if their bed mattress is in the proper condition– it could be because of that they are unable to rest properly. If not, search for a regal mattress near me, and you will find plenty of options to make a choice.
The best one is Livpure which houses a wide variety of mattresses, from the orthopedic memory foam mattress to soft mattress and mattress for back pain, among others.
The great thing is double or single bed mattress price both fall under the reasonable category.
