Insomnia in elderly: A neglected epidemic

Sleep is an important vital function. Sleep promotes many functions such as restoration of body, repair of tissues, immune regulation, and consolidation of memory. Insomnia is one of the most common complaints in patients with mental health problems. The prevalence of insomnia is higher in elderly t...

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Main Authors: Shiva Shanker Reddy Mukku, Vijaykumar Harbishettar, Palanimuthu T Sivakumar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2018-01-01
Series:Journal of Geriatric Mental Health
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.jgmh.org/article.asp?issn=2348-9995;year=2018;volume=5;issue=2;spage=84;epage=93;aulast=Reddy
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author Shiva Shanker Reddy Mukku
Vijaykumar Harbishettar
Palanimuthu T Sivakumar
author_facet Shiva Shanker Reddy Mukku
Vijaykumar Harbishettar
Palanimuthu T Sivakumar
author_sort Shiva Shanker Reddy Mukku
collection DOAJ
description Sleep is an important vital function. Sleep promotes many functions such as restoration of body, repair of tissues, immune regulation, and consolidation of memory. Insomnia is one of the most common complaints in patients with mental health problems. The prevalence of insomnia is higher in elderly than in general population. The reasons could be due to physiological changes in sleep architecture with aging, high medical morbidity, multiple medication, loneliness, and environmental factors causing sleep disturbances. Although insomnia is a common troubling problem in the elderly, only minority seek professional help. Some elderly self-medicate with over-the-counter medications for their sleep problems. These practices lead to serious adverse effects over the long term. There are many myths related to insomnia in elderly. Thus, insomnia in elderly is often under-recognized and under-treated problem. In this article, we review the literature on sleep problems in the elderly and discuss the systematic evaluation of insomnia in the elderly.
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spelling doaj.art-28b0ed70562c49979e0629bd457182622022-12-21T17:51:14ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Geriatric Mental Health2348-99952395-33222018-01-0152849310.4103/jgmh.jgmh_15_18Insomnia in elderly: A neglected epidemicShiva Shanker Reddy MukkuVijaykumar HarbishettarPalanimuthu T SivakumarSleep is an important vital function. Sleep promotes many functions such as restoration of body, repair of tissues, immune regulation, and consolidation of memory. Insomnia is one of the most common complaints in patients with mental health problems. The prevalence of insomnia is higher in elderly than in general population. The reasons could be due to physiological changes in sleep architecture with aging, high medical morbidity, multiple medication, loneliness, and environmental factors causing sleep disturbances. Although insomnia is a common troubling problem in the elderly, only minority seek professional help. Some elderly self-medicate with over-the-counter medications for their sleep problems. These practices lead to serious adverse effects over the long term. There are many myths related to insomnia in elderly. Thus, insomnia in elderly is often under-recognized and under-treated problem. In this article, we review the literature on sleep problems in the elderly and discuss the systematic evaluation of insomnia in the elderly.http://www.jgmh.org/article.asp?issn=2348-9995;year=2018;volume=5;issue=2;spage=84;epage=93;aulast=ReddyElderlyetiologyinsomniamedicationphysiological changes
spellingShingle Shiva Shanker Reddy Mukku
Vijaykumar Harbishettar
Palanimuthu T Sivakumar
Insomnia in elderly: A neglected epidemic
Journal of Geriatric Mental Health
Elderly
etiology
insomnia
medication
physiological changes
title Insomnia in elderly: A neglected epidemic
title_full Insomnia in elderly: A neglected epidemic
title_fullStr Insomnia in elderly: A neglected epidemic
title_full_unstemmed Insomnia in elderly: A neglected epidemic
title_short Insomnia in elderly: A neglected epidemic
title_sort insomnia in elderly a neglected epidemic
topic Elderly
etiology
insomnia
medication
physiological changes
url http://www.jgmh.org/article.asp?issn=2348-9995;year=2018;volume=5;issue=2;spage=84;epage=93;aulast=Reddy
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