60% Of persons over 60 years of age suffers from sleep disorders.

-certain diseases and psycho-social factors and environmental, the main causes of sleep problems

-La doctora Pilar Soler, of Sanitas Residencial El Viso, ensures that in dealing with this discomfort has gone from the abuse of drugs to try to restructure the way most physiological sleep ”

Madrid, February 2013.- sleep disorders are a common problem in the elderly. 60 Per cent of people over 60 years suffers sleep problems. This pathology can affect the daily activities of the person, and even end up diminishing their quality of life.

elders need to sleep the same hours as an adult. However, as the person ages, it reduces the time of slow sleep and increases called light sleep time. This means that the elderly take longer to fall asleep and suffer further interruptions of sleep during the night.

The origin of the sleep problems, according to Dr. Pilar Soler of Sanitas Residencial El Viso, tend to be pre-existing diseases or psychosocial factors and environmental as loneliness, sedentary or isolation. Diseases that alter most sleep include those that cause pain, dementia, reflux, Gastroesophageal, heart failure, lung disease or benign prostate hypertrophy.

Despite the fact that 40% of adults suffer from insomnia, the most common alteration, there are different types of disorders:

-(SAHS) sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome: respiratory disorders that occur during sleep.

-Restless legs syndrome: a disorder in which sensations are experienced by which is needed to keep them active to stop these annoyances and strange legs.

-Insomnia: this problem is usually have great difficulty to sleep, waking up frequently during the night and very early in the morning. It generates an insufficient, uneasy, of poor quality, or non-restorative sleep.

-Advanced sleep phase syndrome: people with this disorder do not usually sleep until the wee hours, they have great difficulty to wake up in the morning and, of course, to maintain their daily life normally.

Dr. Pilar Soler, Sanitas Residencial El viso, ensures that in recent years, the way to treat insomnia has changed. Passed the hypnotic drug abuse to try to restructure the architecture of the dream of the most physiological manner, leaving the drug treatments for the most complicated cases ”.

Tips to prevent insomnia in elderly

To get elders to sleep better is suitable first will opt for non-pharmacological treatments:

-don’t lie down immediately after dinner

-before going to sleep, perform some activity as read, hear the radio or watch TV

-exercises of relaxation before or at the same time be lying

-drink warm before you go to bed

-regularized schedules, including a possible restriction of the time in bed

-maintain a life active during the day

-avoid daytime NAPs

sleeping well has numerous advantages for the person and, on many occasions, is synonymous with good health. Rest allows to improve aspects such as memory and concentration as well as reduce stress and control appetite.