[Sleep disorders in the elderly. Epidemiology]

Age is a factor determining the physiology of sleep. Independently of the changes due to aging itself, several other factors contribute to the deterioration of sleep in elderly persons.

A high percentage of adults of advanced age have alterations in their sleep at night leading to somnolence during the day. The commonest disorders are difficulty in getting to sleep and in staying asleep. With age, there is an increase in periodic leg movements and sleep apnea; the most relevant parasomnia is the behavior disorder associated with REM sleep. There are also a series of problems, which although not specific to the elderly, have a greater impact on them because of their effect on sleep: lack of adaptation to emotional upsets, poor sleep habits, psychiatric affective disorders, organic disorders, use of drugs (psychotropic or others), nocturnal agitation and falls. Finally, although the problem is recognized as important in medical practice, not all doctors have sufficient resources to satisfactorily treat sleep disorders in the elderly.