Poor sleep not normal part of aging

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Jul 14, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Researchers say poor sleep is not a normal part of aging and they've outlined five steps to help physicians identify and treat insomnia in elderly patients.

The Wake Forest University researchers said data shows physicians can help reduce sleep disturbances in the geriatric population through the five-step approach to diagnosing and managing insomnia.

The steps include patient questioning; problem elaboration; determining if a medical or psychiatric emergency exists; evaluating chronic insomnia, if present; and intervention that can include pharmacological treatment

"The perception of sleeping poorly, coupled with daytime sequelae such as fatigue or irritability, is cause for seeking medical help," said the study's author, Dr. W. Vaughn McCall, a psychiatrist in Wake Forest University's Health Sciences Department.

"Failure to address insomnia could lead to bad outcomes, such as clinical depression," he said, "Insomnia can ... be treated successfully either through lifestyle and behavioral changes or through medications."

This study appears in a special insomnia-themed supplement of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.