Sleep perception in non-insomniac healthy elderly: a 3-year longitudinal study

Older adults complain of sleep disturbances more often than younger adults do. It is not clear whether the age-related rise in sleep problems is related to aging itself or to health-related quality of life. The aim of this study was to explore the presence of self-reported sleep problems in healthy elderly individuals and to evaluate whether changes occurred over a 3-year follow-up.

A total of 314 older community-dwelling volunteers, aged 71.6±1.0 years old, were examined and followed for 3 years. All of the subjects completed questionnaires evaluating anxiety, depression, and sleepiness and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at the first and second evaluations. On the basis of the PSQI items, the subjects were classified as good or bad sleepers and as short, normal, or long sleepers.

At baseline, 53% of the subjects reported good sleep, with 61% reporting a sleep duration of approximately 7 hr. The total sleep time and the numbers of short, normal, and long sleepers were similar at baseline and at 3 years later. Over time, there was a slight increase (p<0.001) in bad sleepers (53%) and a rise in the occasional hypnotic intake (p<0.001). Considering individual variation, the majority of subjects remained stable at follow-up for sleep duration (65%), sleep quality (75%), and medication (83%).

In a healthy older population, the majority of the subjects did not report bad and short sleep at baseline and did not have significant changes in self-perceived sleep 3 years later. These findings suggest that the reported sleep disturbances described in the elderly are more dependent on physical, environmental, and health factors rather than on age-dependent sleep changes.

NCT 00759304 and NCT 00766584.