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• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Making sense of poor sleep >> Making sense of poor sleep

Making sense of poor sleep

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• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Anne - Interview 14 >> Anne’s memories of the war include sleeping in an air raid shelter and of her mother rushing out to check whether a bomb had landed on their family ho

Anne is a retired Education Adviser, but is still working part-time writing a book. Anne likes to play golf at least once a week, but has recently had some injuries which have prevented this. She also likes to keep active by walking. Anne finds she now wakes up early in the morning and would very much like to be able to sleep in for longer.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 75+ >> William - Interview 38 >> William recalls having to get out of bed and go down to their cellar during air raids, and remembers his mother being very frightened.

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 >> Carol - Interview 18 >> Carol remembers not being allowed to stay in bed in the mornings when she was a teenager, unlike young people today.

Carol has noticed her sleep has changed as she has got older. In particular she now finds she has to get up to go to the toilet in the night, sometimes as often as six times, which she finds very disturbing. Now Carol is retired, she finds her days vary from being very full and busy to having little planned, and she wonders whether she doesn’t sleep so well on the days when she has been less active.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 65-74 >> Mike - Interview 12 >> Mike rarely discussed his broken sleep with friends or family because, although he slept quite badly, it wasn’t a concern to him.

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.