• 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.

• Topic
• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Describing current sleep >> Describing current sleep

Describing current sleep

• Clip
• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Juliet - Interview 07 >> Juliet hasn’t had a full night’s sleep since her diagnosis with rheumatoid arthritis 12 years ago, and is often up several times in the night.

In addition to her formal career, Juliet has had a range of voluntary jobs such as Chairman of the Preschool Playgroup Association. Juliet was also employed as an Ofsted Lay School Inspector. Juliet is an avid silver surfer and thoroughly enjoys online shopping and writing emails. She has had rheumatoid arthritis for about 15 years and has also been diagnosed with diabetes, both of which interfere with her sleep.

• 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 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.

• 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

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

Worries

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

Dreams

• 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 >> Men aged 75+ >> Daniel - Interview 28 >> Daniel, who had lots of recurring nightmares when he was younger, remembers a hissing sound in his ear which he identified as a trigger for his nightm

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.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 75+ >> Daniel - Interview 28 >> Daniel remembers having very bad nightmares at a time when he was under a lot of stress during his employment as a social worker.

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.

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Margaret - Interview 32 >> Margaret bases her idea of a perfect night’s sleep on going to bed at 10 pm and getting up at 7 am, even though she has never had nine hours sleep.

Margaret is a retired Day Centre Manager and formerly a social worker. She spent long periods of her childhood in hospital where part of the routine was to put children outside in the fresh air. Margaret believes this still influences her now as she likes to wake up to daylight in her room. Margaret noticed her sleep started to worsen about 10-15 years ago, and used to worry about not having enough sleep, but has now found a way to cope and feels content with the amount of sleep she gets.

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

Making sense of poor sleep

• Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 75+ >> Otto - Interview 36 >> Otto’s perfect night would be 8 hours of sleep uninterrupted, and he has read somewhere that that is the right amount.

Otto has been widowed for four years and has 2 children and one grandchild. Otto is a retired design engineer and was in the RAF during the second world war. Otto likes to keep active by walking a lot and also has an exercise bicycle. His main problems with sleep are that he finds he has to get up in the night to go to the toilet, and then finds he can’t get back to sleep, usually because he finds thoughts and worries go round and round his head.