At the time of his interview Robert had recently lost his wife and was still trying to cope with the aftermath of her illness and his subsequent bereavement. Robert has found that he wakes up quite a lot in the night and hopes that, with time, his sleep pattern will settle back into the routine he had before his wife was ill. Robert likes to keep very active and enjoys engineering problems and making things. He has recently started to cycle again.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 75+ >> Robert - Interview 06 >> Robert, who has recently been bereaved, finds that thinking about interesting problems, such as how to build a boat trailer, helps him get to sleep.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 75+ >> Joyce - Interview 09 >> Joyce sleeps less and wakes up a lot more in the night since her husband died several years ago.

Joyce is a retired Tailoress, although she still does quite a lot of dressmaking and sewing. She has been widowed for about 7 years and has two children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren, who mostly live quite nearby. Joyce’s sleep first changed when her husband died, and now she finds she wakes up quite a lot in the night. She does believe sleep is important and would like to be able to sleep right the way through, even if only for six hours.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 75+ >> Robert - Interview 06 >> Robert believes the stress from his recent bereavement has caused him to have dreams about the past where he is searching for things and people.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Dessie - Interview 17 >> After Dessie’s husband died, she had frequent dreams which contained flashbacks to what had happened.

Dessie feels her sleep has got a lot worse, especially since she lost her husband. She finds she sometimes wakes up in the very early hours of the morning and can’t get back to sleep at all. Dessie is very active and likes to keep herself very busy, working in the garden, visiting friends and helping her family.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Mary - Interview 02 >> Mary doesn’t see poor sleep as an illness so she would only see her doctor for problems sleeping during difficult times, such as bereavement.

Mary often finds it very difficult to get to sleep, sometimes taking up to an hour to fall asleep. Mary finds that relaxation and meditation exercises help her to fall asleep, and help her get back to sleep if she wakes up in the night. Even if she has not had a good night Mary finds it impossible to take a nap during the day, although she may put her feet up in bed to have a rest instead. Mary hasn’t been to the doctor about her sleep, but has tried some over the counter remedies.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 75+ >> Joyce - Interview 09 >> Joyce finds that since her husband died, 5 years ago, her sleep has been quite fragmented, and she often watches television in the night.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Dessie - Interview 17 >> Even though her sleep had improved a bit since her husband had died, Dessie still found herself waking up remembering what she had been through.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 75+ >> Robert - Interview 06 >> Robert describes how the ‘stop and start’ sleep pattern he had when he was caring for his terminally ill wife has continued after she died.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Dessie - Interview 17 >> Her husband’s illness and subsequent death led Dessie to have many sleepless nights as she lay awake worrying about the future.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Dessie - Interview 17 >> Dessie used to get up with her husband, who was ill with cancer, for a cup of tea in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 75+ >> Robert - Interview 06 >> Robert compared his constant watching and caring for his wife at night during the latter stages of her illness to being a sentry on guard.

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