Newswise — If you are finding that it is no longer as easy to sleep like a baby as it was when you were younger, you're not alone.
"As we age, sleep quality deteriorates dramatically," says Brian Bohner, M.D., co-medical director of the Sleep Centers at Northwest Hospital in Randallstown, Maryland, and Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. "The biggest decline is in slow wave sleep, also called delta sleep. By the time we're 70, delta sleep has become almost completely extinguished."
That can be a problem because delta sleep " a form of non-REM sleep " is the deepest, most restful sleep a person can get. To put things in perspective, delta sleep makes up about 25 percent of a 25-year-old's sleep but only about 3 percent of the sleep of someone who is 60.
Because a decline in sleep quality is so common with age, the average person doesn't know that he or she has options to improve rest at night. Experts estimate that up to 95 percent of people with at least one sleep disorder go undiagnosed.
"Older patients may not actually need a sleep study," says Bohner. "Sometimes we can find and solve the problem simply by having them come in for a consultation and going through their medical histories."
The most common sleep problem that Bohner sees in the elderly population is insomnia, which is often caused by arthritis pain, acid reflux or heart problems or because of certain medications like beta-blockers and steroids.
"Many times, we can just adjust a patient's medication regimen to eliminate the insomnia," Bohner explains. Also, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco all cause sleep disturbances, so patients may need to change some of their habits to get the sleep they need.
"Obstructive sleep apnea is found in about 25 percent of the population aged 70 and over," says Bohner. Sleep apnea, which is three times more prevalent in younger men than in younger women, becomes more common among women as they age. Estrogen helps control breathing, so after menopause, a decline in this hormone leads to the same percentage of women and men with sleep apnea.
"About 10 percent of older patients also suffer from restless leg syndrome, or RLS," continues Bohner. "Sometimes a patient's symptoms aren't obvious, but they will tell me, 'I can't sleep because my legs feel weird.' Well, that's RLS, and there are medications that can effectively control it."
Medication may also be prescribed for REM disorder and advanced sleep phase syndrome. REM disorder is when people act out their dreams, which can be very dangerous for an elder who has a greater potential for falls and would experience more dire consequences from a fall than a younger person. Advanced sleep phase syndrome is when the body's internal clock changes so that the older person wants to go to bed earlier and wake up at a much earlier time -- "not necessarily a bad thing," says Bohner, "but some people may want to fix this so that they can be awake at the same time as the rest of society."
If you or an elderly family member are experiencing increased disturbance of sleep, call a sleep clinic for a consultation. Your insurance may require you to see your primary care physician first, so you may need to let your doctor know that you're interested in seeing a sleep specialist.
"Regardless of your age, never accept that your sleep quality cannot be improved," says Bohner.
LifeBridge Health is one of Baltimore's largest health organizations and includes Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Northwest Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, and Courtland Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
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