If you find yourself tossing and turning, you might want to try these expert tips to help you sleep more soundly.
Tossing and turning?
Too many older adults endure night after night of fragmented sleep with frequent waking. But you don’t have to accept skipping sleep as just a normal part of aging. It’s important to get a good night’s rest to reduce stress, boost memory and reaction time, make the best decisions and stave off depression. Sleep may also play into better blood-pressure control and heart health. Insomnia often stems from causes that can be changed, fixed or treated. Check out the following expert tips to help you sleep more soundly.
Understand your sleep needs.
Sleep patterns shift somewhat with age but changes “are not profound,” says Michael V. Vitiello, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. Circadian rhythms that help determine a person’s daily sleep-wake cycles are thought to undergo a “phase advance” with age, meaning the sleep phase starts earlier. From ages 18 to 81 or so, the average amount of nightly sleep only shrinks by about one to 1.5 hours. And you don’t really need a full eight hours anyway, Vitiello says. According to guidelines, seven hours of sleep is standard for most adults.
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Take snoring seriously.
“It’s not normal to have messed up sleep just because you’re getting older,” says Dr. Atul Malhotra, director of the Sleep Medicine Center at UC San Diego Health. Snoring doesn’t necessarily mean you have a problem like sleep apnea, but it’s worth getting checked out. Sleep apnea — when people stop breathing for short periods while asleep — should be addressed, Malhotra says. Continuous positive airway pressure therapy, or CPAP, is an effective treatment. There’s a silver lining for sleep-challenged seniors, he notes: They can tolerate sleep deprivation better than younger adults, so a 70-year-old will handle lack of sleep better than a 20-something.
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Thinkstock
Check your lifestyle.
Eating sensibly, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising daily enhance your nighttime sleep. Quitting smoking helps too, once nicotine is out of your system. Confine your caffeine to mornings: Sipping coffee or tea before noon is fine but stick with decaf versions after lunch. Otherwise, the afternoon boost of alertness you’re looking for can translate to nighttime edginess and wakefulness.
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Avoid alcohol rebound.
Tossing down a nightcap to sleep better turns out to be counterproductive. Although alcohol makes you sleepy at first, it actually tends to increase insomnia. In general, when it comes to the effects of alcohol, tolerance decreases with age. So drinking in moderation — at most — is better for your sleep and overall health.
(David Cheskin/PA via AP, file)
David Cheskin/PA via AP, file
Propped up? Ask why.
It’s no big deal to doze a bit while stretched out in your La-Z-Boy. But if you require a recliner or upright chair to sleep at all, it could signal medical problems. “If [someone] can’t sleep in bed lying down — they have to be sitting up — it’s worth looking at further conditions,” Malhotra says. Propping up on a mountain of pillows just to breathe could indicate a change for the worse in conditions like congestive heart failure. Getting evaluated and treated will improve your sleep.
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Thinkstock
Deal with depression.
Just as you shouldn’t accept poor sleep as a normal part of aging, the same holds true for depression. An older adult who is isolated, perhaps recently widowed or grieving, could be at higher risk. Sleep and mental health can interact, Vitiello says, and someone who is depressed may not be sleeping well (and vice versa). Part of cognitive behavioral therapy, a talk therapy that’s highly effective for treating sleep problems, is motivating people to “activate,” he says. That includes getting out, exercising and socializing more — which could also ease depression. Don’t hesitate to let health providers know if depression takes hold.
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Thinkstock
Reset bedroom habits.
When people have ongoing trouble falling asleep, they learn to associate their sleep environment with not sleeping, Vitiello says. Too often, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as someone sees their bedroom and subconsciously thinks of being awake instead of being asleep. Stimulus-control therapy helps break that relationship, he says, so the bedroom again evokes sleep. With this type of cognitive behavioral therapy, people follow a set of instructions including going to bed only when sleepy and using the bedroom solely for sleep (and sex). That means no reading, watching TV or checking emails while under the sheets.
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Thinkstock
Practice sleep hygiene.
You can do a lot to promote a better sleep environment. Not surprisingly, reducing noise is a key. If you can get away from traffic noises by switching bedrooms, do so for quieter surroundings. Pull the shades to darken your room as much as possible. First, however, clear the space around your bed and on the floor. A clutter-free bedroom helps prevent falls and is conducive to better sleep. Switch from flannel to cotton pajamas and lower the thermostat — staying cool helps people sleep better. Set a regular bedtime and your morning alarm to foster a consistent sleep pattern.
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Thinkstock
Manage medical conditions.
Insomnia affecting older adults is likely due to co-existing conditions and treatment side effects rather than a function of aging itself, according to Vitiello. Older adults with health complications are more likely to complain of poor sleep. If you’re managing a condition like diabetes or heart disease, ask your doctor or pharmacist whether your prescribed medications can cause sleep-related side effects. If so, switching to different drugs or tweaking the amount or timing of doses may help.
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Thinkstock
Relieve restless legs.
Restless leg syndrome, when your legs can’t seem to keep still while you’re sitting or lying down, is more common in middle-aged or older adults. So is periodic limb movement disorder, a related condition that involves kicking while you sleep. Treatment options include cutting tobacco and alcohol, taking warm baths and applying heating pads or foot-wrap devices. Iron supplements may also help for people with low iron levels on blood testing. Certain anti-seizure and other drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating moderate-to-severe RLS.
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Thinkstock
Try fewer sleeping pills, more sun.
If you choose to try prescription sleep aids such as Ambien or Lunesta, or over-the-counter drugs such as Benadryl or melatonin, proceed with caution. “All these medications have risks as well as benefits,” Malhotra says. If possible, use sleep drugs for a short time only rather than as a long-term solution. For a natural sleep aid, try sunlight. About 30 minutes to an hour of daily sunlight exposure can boost your nighttime sleep.
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