• 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 >> Worries >> Worries

Worries

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Dreams >> Dreams

Dreams

• Clip
• 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.

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 >> Anne - Interview 33 >> Anne finds that her problems seem much greater in the night, and they sometimes develop into nightmares.

Anne is married and has three children, and six grandchildren. Anne retired from teaching some years ago and now works hard at keeping active, particularly enjoying spending lots of time in her garden. Anne feels that sleep is a waste of time and would much rather have more time to do the things she enjoys doing, such as writing and doing research.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 65-74 >> Mike - Interview 12 >> Mike not only remembers dreaming frequently when he was a child, but still remembers what he dreamt, and feels that he has started dreaming a lot now

Mike works part-time as a test centre administrator. He has noticed a change in his sleep as he has got older, noticeably that he has periods of deeper sleep, but he doesn’t believe he sleeps any longer than he used to. Mike noticed his sleep changed when he first had children, and finds that pattern has continued.

• 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.

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 >> Anne - Interview 33 >> Anne can sometimes lay awake worrying until two or three in the morning.

Anne is married and has three children, and six grandchildren. Anne retired from teaching some years ago and now works hard at keeping active, particularly enjoying spending lots of time in her garden. Anne feels that sleep is a waste of time and would much rather have more time to do the things she enjoys doing, such as writing and doing research.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Sue B - Interview 03 >> Sue B. is aware that her dreams very often reflect what she was doing before she went to bed.

Sue B. lives on her own in a small, friendly village. She has 4 children and 7 grandchildren. She recently gave up her job as a provider of supplies to pre-school groups, but still works part-time making scarves which she sells through Craft Fairs. Sue B. is very active, often taking several walks a day, sometimes swimming and bicycling. She is also a retired Church Warden. Sleep is very important to Sue B., and she loves waking up after a very good night’s sleep.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 75+ >> William - Interview 38 >> If William has been mentally active, such as reading a challenging book, he will dream a lot more.

William lives with his partner and has been retired for about 14 years. He likes to keep active by swimming four days a week and going to a gym class one day a week. He also attends art classes and is a member of a local literature club. William has noticed a change in his sleep over the last couple of years in that he finds he is having very vivid and sometimes difficult dreams. He notices he also has to get up now in the night because of cramp or to go to the toilet, which he never used to do.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 75+ >> William - Interview 38 >> If William wakes up because of pain or needing to go to the toilet, he often slips back into the same dream when he goes back to sleep.

William lives with his partner and has been retired for about 14 years. He likes to keep active by swimming four days a week and going to a gym class one day a week. He also attends art classes and is a member of a local literature club. William has noticed a change in his sleep over the last couple of years in that he finds he is having very vivid and sometimes difficult dreams. He notices he also has to get up now in the night because of cramp or to go to the toilet, which he never used to do.

• 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 >> Men aged 75+ >> William - Interview 38 >> William dreams more when he is stressed, and his dreams are full of frustrations and tensions, so that he wakes up feeling anxious.

William lives with his partner and has been retired for about 14 years. He likes to keep active by swimming four days a week and going to a gym class one day a week. He also attends art classes and is a member of a local literature club. William has noticed a change in his sleep over the last couple of years in that he finds he is having very vivid and sometimes difficult dreams. He notices he also has to get up now in the night because of cramp or to go to the toilet, which he never used to do.

• Condition
• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Sleep problems in later life

Publication date:  9th November 2009          Review date: under review

 

Sleep is important for health and well-being but it is increasingly recognised that sleep quality declines with age, and many older people experience trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep, and waking early. We interviewed 33 people about their experiences of poor sleep. Select from the six key topics below, choose from the 'Full list of topics', or explore all the interviews.