Last updated on July 7th, 2023 at 01:47 pm
Achieving the right level of quality sleep is very important for us all, and just as important for the elderly. Sleep disorders are more likely to occur in elderly people.
However, it is a common problem that elderly adults struggle to achieve the level of sleep that is required. There can be multiple reasons for this, including physical and/or mental health issues, and potentially the medications being taken to treat these ailments. On top of these, elderly people tend to have different sleep patterns altogether; they go to bed earlier, wake up earlier and nap more often throughout the day. They also commonly wake more often in the night for the toilet, medications or to attend to aches and pains.
As well as a number of sleep disorders, elderly people are especially prone to sleep breathing disorders e.g. snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). This is because of the inevitable weakening and collapse of muscle tension in the upper airway tissue, in the elderly. (Symptoms of OSA can be found here)
The most common and effective treatment for OSA is Continuous Positive Airway Pressue (CPAP). CPAP therapy uses a CPAP machine, which supplies regular air to a CPAP facial mask. This provides constant pressure into the CPAP patient’s airway, creating an air splint that prevent the airway tissue from collapsing.
A study that was completed to study the effect of CPAP treatment in elderly patients, concluded that CPAP treatment improved overall quality of life, sleep-related symptoms, anxiety and depression in elderly people.
If you think you, or a relative could be suffering from OSA, then take steps to find help and solutions.
- NHS– lower costs, slower speeds
To find out if you are eligible for CPAP through the NHS, you will need a referral to a sleep clinic from your GP. From there, many parts of the UK have a waiting list of around 10 weeks to undergo a sleep study, then some additional time to get the results.
Or
- Go Private with us for higher costs but faster service, greater choice and more convenience here.
Sleep well!
http://sleepyheadcentral.blogspot.co.uk/p/elderly.html