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 >> Dessie - Interview 17 >> Dessie thinks the strict routine surrounding bed and wake times her mother imposed on her as a child has followed her into adulthood.

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 14 >> Anne remembers there was a bedtime and wake up routine in her home and has fond memories of her father saying prayers with her and her sister when she

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 >> 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 felt if he did start to nap it would signify he was getting older.

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+ >> P. - Interview 16 >> After a bad night, P. is aware that he feels a bit jet-lagged the next day, and may unknowingly drop off to sleep in the afternoon.

P. has been retired for 35 years but still continues to undertake research and has published more than 30 papers since his retirement. He likes to try and be active as much as he can during the day and doesn’t like to doze off in the evening because he feels that is a waste of time. He does sometimes have difficulty getting off to sleep, but finds that reading a book often helps with this.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Juliet - Interview 07 >> Juliet sometimes sleeps badly because of pain from her rheumatoid arthritis, and mostly she will carry on as normal but occasionally she has to cancel

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 >> Men aged 75+ >> Roy - Interview 13 >> If Roy has a bad night he finds it more difficult to get up and get on with things in the morning and may even stay in bed a little longer than normal

Roy has been retired for some time, but is an active member of the local U3A group (University of the Third Age) and likes to take long walks. He frequently visits his older brother who lives nearby. Roy has had trouble sleeping for many years, but has now found a routine for getting to sleep that he feels works well for him.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 65-74 >> Fred - Interview 20 >> Fred would definitely not go to bed any earlier if he slept badly the night before, but he may fall asleep during the day for a short while.

Fred often finds it difficult to get to sleep. He also finds that if he wakes up in the night he finds it takes a long time to get back to sleep. Sometimes he comes downstairs and has a cigarette in the back garden before trying to go back up and get to sleep. Fred noticed his sleep changed after he retired and feels this may be because he isn’t quite as active.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 65-74 >> Mike - Interview 12 >> Apart from feeling a bit sluggish after a bad night’s sleep, Mike would just get up and get on with the next day and not make any changes to his routi

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 75+ >> Daphne - Interview 29 >> When Daphne’s daughter came to live with her she felt she had to get up earlier in the mornings than she normally would.

Daphne has been retired for a few years, but has had a variety of very interesting professions, such as officer in the WAAF, fashion model and actress. On the whole she finds she sleeps well, but would like to have more than the five or six hours she currently has. Daphne believes sleep is very important, but would only really be concerned if she felt she couldn’t get to sleep.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Valerie - Interview 11 >> Val sees sleep as being necessary and achieves the sleep she needs to cope with the day, but is aware she might need more if she had more to do.

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 65-74 >> Fred - Interview 20 >> Fred doesn’t worry about being awake for some time in the night because he doesn’t have to get up to go to work the next day.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 65-74 >> Richard - Interview 25 >> Richard leads a very active social life and finds the idea of having set sleep routines boring.

Richard is a part-time member of an employment tribunal, a job he has been doing for several years. He likes to remain busy and active, and thinks it is important to keep himself occupied. A few years ago he had a stroke, and is also a diabetic, and he believes this is when his sleeping problems started.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Margaret - Interview 32 >> Margaret doesn’t normally watch television, but likes to be in bed in time to watch Newsnight.

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 >> Women aged 65-74 >> Margaret - Interview 32 >> Margaret spent several years in hospital and still remembers the rules and disciplines surrounding sleep and bedtimes.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Mary - Interview 05 >> Falling asleep during the day makes Mary cross, especially as she has so many things to do.

Mary is a retired Secretary and travel organiser. She lives on her own, but has a daughter and grandchildren living nearby. Mary likes to keep very active during the day and helps with looking after the grandchildren. She also attends Keep Fit and Tai Chi and likes to sew and do crafts. Mary believes sleep is very important and would like to have more sleep, but also feels that she doesn’t want to waste time sleeping as there are so many things she enjoys doing.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Women aged 65-74 >> Mary - Interview 05 >> Mary believes sleep is important, but she also believes it is a waste of time and so its importance is linked to what she has to do during the day.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 65-74 >> Ronald - Interview 01 >> Ronald retired early because of health problems, and noticed a change in his sleep then because of a change in his daily routine.

Ronald finds he usually gets about 6 ½ to 7 hours sleep a night, but this is disturbed by having to get up and go to the toilet. Although he usually drops off to sleep straight away, occasionally he finds he can’t get to sleep, or wakes up in the night and can’t get back to sleep, so on these occasions he tries counting sheep, but this doesn’t always work. Ronald noticed a change in his sleep pattern when he took early retirement because of health problems, and the change in his daily routine.

Later life >> Sleep problems in later life >> Men aged 65-74 >> Ronald - Interview 01 >> Ronald thinks his sleep has changed since retirement for several reasons, including changes in his routines and poorer health.

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