Snoring, nightmares, and morning headaches in elderly women: a preliminary study

Self-reported snoring in 37 females aged 65-94 years was assessed and the relationships between snoring and sleep characteristics, respiratory events, depression scores, sleep complaints and self-reported health problems were investigated. Sleep was recorded for two 24-h periods in the home on successive weeks, using the Home Monitoring System. Snoring was positively correlated with the frequency of nightmares and morning headaches; and nightmares and morning headaches were significantly correlated. Snoring was also significantly and positively correlated with the number of brief wakings during sleep, and was positively correlated with weight. While these relationships are ones that have previously indicated risk status, snoring was not related to respiratory events, sleep complaints, or other health problems. Snoring, nightmares and headaches each showed a significant, negative correlation with age, but this is a finding that cannot be readily interpreted from a cross-sectional study. Replication of this study with a larger sample, studied longitudinally, is required to confirm a significance of the snoring/nightmares/headaches constellation for aging women.