subject: How Much Sleep The Elderly Need | Mi Assisted Living [print this page] Sleeping habits have a huge impact on everyones health and wellbeing, but it is common for those who may need it the most to not get enough. Elderly adults have many health risks to worry about and getting too much or too little can cause issues whether you are in a MI assisted living environment or at home. We are going to talk about what causes sleep issues as we get older and what the consequences are.
Medical Illness
Some chronic medical issues are commonly found in elderly adults such as menopause, Alzheimers, heart failure, arthritis, and heartburn are more than capable of hindering sleep habits. They will either make it difficult to fall asleep or wake the individual up constantly throughout the night which will impact the duration and quality of sleep.
Poor Habits
By having an irregular sleep-wake pattern you are causing mayhem with your circadian rhythm. This can make it difficult to maintain a sleep schedule or regular cycles. Things such as alcohol consumption before bed, daytime napping, and wakeful times in bed can severely hinder your ability to sleep.
Disorders
Things like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and periodic limb movement are commonly associated with aging and can impact overall sleep.
Psychological Distress
Aging has some negative and positive life events associated with it. Things like the death of a loved one, moving away from a family home, or physical limits can cause large amounts of stress and sleep problems.
Retirement
Retirement is a time that results in a lot of down time. By having less daytime activity it is common for irregular sleep-wake habits to begin and often the development of chronic sleep issues.
How Much Do You Need?
There are many opinions varying from adults needing 4 to 10 hours of sleep per night. There is no one source confirming a number, but the statement that everyone has different needs. Typically we need less and less sleep as we grow older, but the general benchmark of 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night is a good one to follow. Some people operate on 5 hours or less and are just fine, others need more. It takes 21 days to become fully adjusted to a new sleep schedule so if you make changes, dont panic when you feel tired or groggy for a while.
It is important to note that studies are showing that individuals that are either above or below the 7 to 9 benchmark have great risk of health problems and even death. It is both unhealthy to not get enough sleep, but to sleep too much.
Sleep is a very important part of everyones lives, but it is common to find the elderly missing out on a lot of it when they need it the most. Being in a MI assisted living community or at home has no impact on this. 7 to 9 hours of sleep every 24 hour period is recommended to be at optimum health.
