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Aging News & Information
Sleep Studies of Older People Find Behavioral
Treatment Helps Insomnia; Women Endangered by Restless Legs
 October
2, 2006 - Brief behavioral treatment for insomnia (BBTI) is
probably something most senior citizens have never heard about, but a
small study indicates it appears to be a promising intervention for
older adults who suffer from insomnia, which is about half of all
Americans over age 60. And, for older women, periodic leg movements
during sleep (PLMS), a common condition in older women, has been found
to lead to long-term health problems. Both studies are reported in the
current edition of the official journal of the American Academy of Sleep
Medicine.
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Aging News & Information |
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The study with BBTI, conducted by Anne Germain,
PhD, and colleagues of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine,
focused on 17 older adults who were randomly assigned to receive BBTI,
and 18 selected to receive an information-only control (IC) condition.
All participants completed clinician-administered
and self-report measures of sleep quality, as well as a sleep diary.
Interventions were delivered in a single individual session with a
booster session administered two weeks later. Postintervention
assessments were completed after four weeks.
The results showed significant improvements in
sleep measures and in daytime symptoms of anxiety and depression in 71
percent of those individuals who received BBTI, compared to 39 percent
favorable response among IC participants.
Furthermore, 53 percent of BBTI participants met
criteria for the problem being in remission, while 17 percent of those
in the IC group met the same criteria.
"These preliminary findings are consistent with
previous studies that have shown that brief behavioral insomnia
interventions can be efficacious and remain efficacious in older adults
who present with the typical psychiatric and medical comorbidities
associated with aging," the authors wrote.
Sleep needs change over a person's lifetime.
However, older adults need about the same amount of sleep as younger
adults -- seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
Not sleeping well can lead to a number of problems.
Older adults who have poor nighttime sleep are more likely to have a
depressed mood, attention and memory problems, excessive daytime
sleepiness, more nighttime falls and use more over-the-counter or
prescription sleep aids. Poor sleep is also associated with a poorer
quality of life.
Insomnia is the most common sleep complaint at any
age. It affects almost half of adults 60 and older.
PLMS Common in Older Women
Periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMS), a
common condition in older women, can lead to long-term health problems.
Those suffering from PLMS should not delay scheduling a visit with a
sleep specialist.
David M. Claman, MD, of the University of
California, San Francisco, surveyed 455 older women, at an average age
of 82.9 years, who completed in-home polysomnography. PLMS measurements
included the number of leg movements per hour of sleep and the number of
leg movements disturbing one's sleep.
According to the results, in a single hour, 66
percent of the participants experienced five or more leg movements, and
52 percent had 15 or more. In addition, leg movements disturbed the
sleep of 27 percent of those surveyed on five or more occasions per
hour, while six percent were awakened on 15 or more occasions in one
hour. Those whose PLMS caused a disruption in their sleep had a
significantly higher arousal index, lower sleep efficiency, a higher
percentage of sleep stages 1- 2 and a lower percentage of stages 3-4 and
REM.
"The importance of understanding determinants and
measurement issues related to sleep disturbances in older women is
underscored by the high prevalence of subjective symptoms of sleep
problems and the frequency of chronic comorbidities in this population,"
wrote Claman.
Periodic limb movements consist of episodes of
simple, uncontrollable, repetitive muscle movements that severely
disrupt a person's sleep during the night, causing you to be very tired
during the day. The movements tend to involve the tightening or flexing
of a muscle, and occur most often in the lower legs. They can occur at
two different times: while you sleep (PLMS) and while you are awake (PLMW).
PLMS is much more common, and can disrupt your sleep many times.
PLMS occurs in both children and adults. The chance
of having it increases with age, making it very common in the elderly.
PLMS occurs in up to 34 percent of people over 60 years old.
Notes:
JCSM is the official publication of the American
Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). It contains published papers related
to the clinical practice of sleep medicine, including original
manuscripts such as clinical trials, clinical reviews, clinical
commentary and debate, medical economic/practice perspectives, case
series and novel/interesting case reports.
SleepEducation.com, a Web site maintained by the AASM, provides
information about the various sleep disorders that exist, the forms of
treatment available, recent news on the topic of sleep, sleep studies
that have been conducted and a listing of sleep facilities.
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