Insomnia
Updated July 2006
A regular inability to fall asleep or stay asleep, leading to excessive tiredness.
It should be recognised that many older people simply need less sleep physiologically than when they were younger. Explanation of this may avoid the need for treatment.
At some point in their lives, about one in three people has regular difficulty in sleeping, known as insomnia. Problems include difficulty in falling asleep, waking during the night, and being unable to get back to sleep. Insomnia is distressing and may lead to excessive tiredness and a general inability to cope. Sleep problems are more common in women in the older population.
Sleeping difficulties most commonly start when a person is worried or anxious. A high intake of caffeine or alcohol during the day may also lead to sleeplessness, and not sleeping properly then becomes persistent because good sleep habits are lost. Insomnia may also be caused by an illness with symptoms that cause problems at night, such as asthma.
The first step is to treat any physical and mental problems that may be causing insomnia. If there is no obvious cause, assessment at a sleep clinic may be arranged. Older people may be advised to avoid taking daytime naps because this reduces the need for sleep at night. Rarely, sleeping drugs may be prescribed for a few days to help restore a normal sleep pattern. Sleeping drugs should not be taken for a longer period because of the risk of dependence.
Further information
- BBC Health - Insomnia
- British Sleep Society
- Loughborough (University) Sleep Research Centre
- MedlinePlus Health Topics - Sleep disorders
- MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopaedia - Sleeping difficulty
- National Cancer Institute (US) - Sleep disorders
- National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (US)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (US) - Sleep disorders information
- National Institute on Ageing - A good night's sleep
- National Sleep Foundation (US)
- NHS Direct Online – Insomnia
- Royal Society of Medicine - Sleep medicine section (Formerly the forum on sleep and its disorders)
- National Sleep Foundation (US) - Aging
- The British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association