Senior Sleep Cycles – Keep Healthy!

 

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Sleeping problems are common among senior people as various chronic diseases affect the quality of their sleep. Respiratory disorders, arthritis, cardiovascular problems only get worse with age making it difficult to fall asleep.  A lot of people believe that sleep disorders are normal effects of aging. This belief prevents many seniors from getting adequate help with their sleeping problems. A simple visit to your general practitioner would help to identify the problem and find a solution.

People go through different stages of sleeping habits in their lives. Newborn babies normally sleep up to 17 hours per day. The amount of sleep declines as children age. Toddlers would still sleep up to 12 hours while 8 hours of sleep is enough for adults. Elderly people also need to get at least 8 hours of sleep per day; however, most of them experience difficulties getting enough sleep.

Common issues

There are certain solutions to help elderly to improve their sleeping habits. Sleeping disorders are not inevitable as some people think. If left untreated these problems may affect the quality of life. Sleep deprivation would force people to take naps and nod off in the middle of the day. A lot of people may wake up in the middle of the night unable to fall asleep again. Is there anything you could do to help your loved ones with daytime fatigue and light sleep?

Solutions

Doctors normally prescribe sleeping pills for those who complain about their sleeping disorders. Medication is not the best

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solution for this issue. Elderly may develop a drug-dependency and suffer from its side effects.

The lack of physical activity and low exposure to the day light interfere with the quality of sleep in elderly. Sleeping medication sometimes could be ineffective due to low metabolism. That’s why establishing a stable sleeping habit would help them to get more sleep at night. You need to encourage your elderly relative to go for a walk during the day, read a positive book before going to sleep and maybe do some light exercising. These activities would make the elderly feel tired and relaxed before the bed time.

Elderly couples should sleep in different beds as their sleeping habits would prevent them from getting enough rest. Some people wiggle all night, others sleep in the same position for hours. These habits only get worse with age. That’s why you need to make sure that sleeping habits of one partner would not affect another during the night. People with light sleep are unable to go back to sleep in the middle of the night if someone wakes them up.

Symptoms of apnea, a common breathing disorder, can be eliminated with less time sleeping on the back. A good mattress would also eliminate certain problems with uncomfortable sleeping.

Aging is associated with multitude chronic diseases and sleeping disorders. However, it does not mean that you cannot help your loved ones with their needs. Anxiety, caffeine and nicotine also affect sleep in elders. Elderly should give up these habits for their own sake; otherwise sleep-deprived people may suffer from depression and decreased life quality.

Guest post by contributing author Linda Michelle, working together with World Market. Check out what they have to offer, like cost plus bed items!

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