Abstract
Changes in both sleep timing and quality have been documented to occur with advancing age [ 1 Bliwise D.L. Sleep in normal aging and dementia. Sleep. 1993; 16: 40-81 Crossref PubMed Scopus (736) Google Scholar , 2 Brock M.A. Chronobiology and aging. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1991; 39: 74-91 Crossref PubMed Scopus (151) Google Scholar , 3 Van Gool W.A. Mirmiran M. Effects of aging and housing in an enriched environment on sleep-wake patterns in rats. Sleep. 1986; 9: 335-347 PubMed Google Scholar , 4 Vitiello M.V. Sleep disorders and aging: understanding the causes. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1997; 52: M189-M191 Crossref PubMed Scopus (95) Google Scholar ]. A recent survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation reported that 36% of respondents aged 65 years and older experienced sleep disturbances [ [5] Foley D. Ancoli-Israel S. Britz P. et al. Sleep disturbances and chronic disease in older adults: results of the 2003 National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America Survey. J Psychosom Res. 2004; 56: 497-502 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (930) Google Scholar ]. These complaints include habitually earlier bedtimes and wake times, inability to maintain sleep at night, undesired early morning awakenings, and frequent daytime sleepiness [ 6 Dement W.C. Miles L.E. Carskadon M.A. White paper on sleep and aging. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1982; 30: 25-50 Crossref PubMed Scopus (177) Google Scholar , 7 Mellinger G.D. Balter M.B. Uhlenhuth E.H. Insomnia and its treatment: prevalence and correlates. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1985; 42: 225-232 Crossref PubMed Scopus (932) Google Scholar , 8 Middelkoop H.A. Smilde-van den Doel D.A. Neven A.K. et al. Subjective sleep characteristics of 1,485 males and females aged 50–93: effects of sex and age, and factors related to self-evaluated quality of sleep. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1996; 51: M108-M115 Crossref PubMed Scopus (301) Google Scholar , 9 Prinz P.N. Sleep and sleep disorders in older adults. J Clin Neurophysiol. 1995; 12: 139-146 Crossref PubMed Scopus (98) Google Scholar ]. When nocturnal sleep does occur in older patients, it contains less slow wave activity and prolonged periods of wakefulness, particularly during the second half of the night, possibly indicating a decreased homeostatic sleep load [ 10 Ohayon M.M. Carskadon M.A. Guilleminault C. et al. Meta-analysis of quantitative sleep parameters from childhood to old age in healthy individuals: developing normative sleep values across the human lifespan. Sleep. 2004; 27: 1255-1273 Crossref PubMed Scopus (2096) Google Scholar , 11 Van Cauter E. Leproult R. Plat L. Age-related changes in slow wave sleep and REM sleep and relationship with growth hormone and cortisol levels in healthy men. JAMA. 2000; 284: 861-868 Crossref PubMed Scopus (546) Google Scholar ].
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