Aging Doesn't Cause Sleep Problems

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http://www.mercola.com/2005/aug/11/sleep_aging.htm

 

Aging Doesn't Cause Sleep Problems

 

When you're in your 20s, you have only a one in eight chance of being

an insomniac. By the time you're over 65, this has doubled to one in

four, and there is a three in five chance -- 60 percent -- that you

will have some kind of sleep disorder. Your likelihood of enjoying a

good night's sleep decreases slowly but steadily with advancing age.

 

As baby boomers hit the prime ages for developing sleep trouble, they

are heading to sleep disorder centers in record numbers. There are

almost 850 accredited sleep clinics in the United States -- more than

double the number there were only seven years ago.

 

The Real Culprits

 

Aging itself, however, is not the cause of most insomnia. Sleep

difficulties are usually caused by the health problems of age and,

frequently, by the medications that come with them. Arthritis, angina,

and prostate enlargement can make a sound night's sleep difficult, and

medications that can interfere with sleep include:

 

* Blood pressure medicines

* Decongestants

* Cancer drugs

* Antidepressants

 

Insomnia Causes Disease

 

Meanwhile, there's a growing body of evidence that sleep disorders can

lead to potentially life-threatening illnesses, including:

 

* Weight gain

* Increased diabetes risk

* Heart disease

* Worsening depression

* Impaired immune function

* Degraded memory and mental performance

 

The last is additionally worrisome because it can mimic dementia in

older patients, leading to misdiagnosis, and impair driving safety in

all who are affected by it.

 

Many Turn to Drugs

 

As a result, Americans spent $2.1 billion on prescription sleeping

pills in 2004, and bought 600 million over-the-counter ones. But many

of these medicines, including antihistamines and antidepressants,

haven't been proven safe and effective for the problem. And almost

none of them have been approved for long-term use by the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA), yet they are often taken for months or years.

 

Behavioral therapies that lower anxiety, along with lifestyle changes

leading to increased exercise and weight loss, can work well long-term.

 

USA Today July 27, 2005

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

Insomnia is absolutely pervasive in our culture. Nearly one in four of

you reading this will have problems getting a good night's sleep.

 

I realize that insomnia is quite common, but I can personally count on

one hand the number of times I was challenged with falling asleep.

However, I attribute that to a healthy lifestyle of going to bed

early, exercising and not being on any medications.

 

Part of the problem is that in industrialized countries the older you

become the more likely you will be taking a prescription drug. Two out

of every three visits to the doctor result in a drug being prescribed.

A study done four years ago showed that more than 12 percent of

Americans over 65 are taking eight or more different drugs.

 

How can you sleep well with eight different drugs? It is a mystery to

me how anyone taking eight medications could hope to sleep well.

 

So the first order of business would be to start a plan to wean off

your prescription drugs. I have seen many very sick patients and it is

very unusual where it wasn't possible to radically reduce, if not

eliminate, all the drugs they were taking by adopting the Total Health

Program.

 

Let me caution you, though, that this weaning should be done under the

supervision of a trained health care professional who has studied

pharmacology and understands all the potential risks and necessary

steps to helping you wean off the medications.

 

After the drug issue you will want to address lifestyle issues. There

are loads of great tips in the first link below. Many have benefited

from using these approaches.

 

After you have addressed the lifestyle issues you will certainly want

to address stress, as it seems to be the most common reason that

people struggle with insomnia. Stress can lead to dysfunction in your

adrenal glands, which tends to perpetuate the problem.