[Sleeping difficulties among the elderly]

Sleeping difficulties affect individuals at all ages, but the number of those affected increases in direct proportion to age. Frequently the elderly manifest their difficulties in achieving a satisfactory degree of sleep. This circumstance, which has a negative effect on their physical and psychological well-being, is a common reason to consult a doctor. However treatment with pharmaceuticals should not be considered a definitive solution. Health Education workshops make it possible to deal with sleep related difficulties in an integrated manner with a group of patients. These workshops enable health professionals to work with the elderly to analyze positive and negative factors which condition sleep, to know the changes which age produces in sleep patterns, to facilitate adapting to the aforementioned changes, to reeducate inadequate habits and to promote healthy life styles which make an improvement possible. Furthermore, in these sleep workshops, participants receive training in techniques to control stimuli and induce relaxation, developing skills which the elderly can daily employ.