Sleep Problems in Elderly

A recent study has offered new revelations into why older people have sleeping problems and adjusting to time changes.

The study of the brain's master circadian clock - known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN - revealed that a key pattern of rhythmic neural activity begins to decline by middle age.

Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders - Types, Causes, Health risks, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis
Circadian rhythm (also known as sleep/wake cycle or the body clock) is a biological process that follows an internal cycle of roughly 24 hours.

"Aging has a profound effect on circadian timing," said Gene Block, a UCLA professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences.

"It is very clear that animals' circadian systems begin to deteriorate as they age, and humans have enormous problems with the quality of their sleep as they age, difficulty adjusting to time-zone changes and difficulty performing shift-work, as well as less alertness when awake.

"There is a real change in the sleep-wake cycle.

Quiz on Sleep Disorder
The comfort of modern life comes at the cost of restful sleep! "Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone-Anthony Burgess" Scientifically it is proven that a good night's sleep is imperative for maintaining a balance between the physical, emotional and behavioral well-being of a person.

"This paper suggests a primary cause of at least some of these changes is a reduction in the amplitude of the rhythmic signals from the SCN," stated Block, who is the senior author of the study.The SCN, located in the hypothalamus, is the central circadian clock in humans and other mammals and controls not only the timing of the sleep-wake cycle but also many other rhythmic and non-rhythmic processes in the body.

The study was published July 13 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Sleeping Disorders
How many times have you stayed awake in the dead of the night counting sheep? If it is fairly often then you could be suffering from a sleep disorder!

Source-ANI

Sleep Better In Elderly Women Than Men, Though They Feel Otherwise
Elderly women sleep better than elderly men even though women consistently report that their sleep is shorter and poorer, says a new study.

Sleep Problems in Elderly - New Insights