• Topic
• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Earlier times of poor sleep and their impact on sleep now >> Earlier times of poor sleep and their impact on sleep now

Earlier times of poor sleep and their impact on sleep now

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Impact of bereavement and caring on sleep >> Impact of bereavement and caring on sleep

Impact of bereavement and caring on sleep

• Clip
• 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.

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 >> Women aged 65-74 >> Judy - Interview 22 >> Judy cared for her brother, who had dementia, until her sleep was so disturbed the doctor suggested he be moved into a home.

Judy had a period of sleeping very badly, whilst looking after her brother who had dementia, she is now sleeping much better. She generally sleeps about 4-5 hours a night, but has always done this so feels it is the right amount of sleep for her.

• 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.

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 >> Women aged 65-74 >> Judy - Interview 22 >> Judy felt guilty about moving her brother to a home when she could no longer cope, and she continued to wake up in the night worrying about him.

Judy had a period of sleeping very badly, whilst looking after her brother who had dementia, she is now sleeping much better. She generally sleeps about 4-5 hours a night, but has always done this so feels it is the right amount of sleep for her.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 75+ >> Audrey - Interview 39 >> Audrey tells how her mother, who lived in a flat on her own, would phone in the middle of the night to ask what the time was.

Audrey feels her sleep has deteriorated a lot in the last ten years. She rarely gets more than a few hours a night, and a really good night would be when Audrey sleeps for 4-5 hours. She would really like to sleep longer.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Valerie - Interview 11 >> Val’s sleeping problems started when she was running a care company for older people. She worried so much about her client’s wellbeing that she was of

Valerie often wakes up in the night and can’t get back to sleep. This means she will be very tired by the early evening, but will try not to go to bed too early because she doesn’t want to waste the evening.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 75+ >> Daniel - Interview 28 >> Daniel’s sleep was badly affected by his job as a social worker, and even led to him having nightmares.

Daniel is a retired social worker, having spent a large part of his working life with children and teenagers. He was diagnosed with sleep apnoea when his snoring at night was making him feel very drowsy during the day. His sleep is quite broken at night, and he often finds he dozes off during the day.