Perspective on sleep and aging.

There is a strong body of data directly interrelating sleep problems with mood disorders. There is a growing data base directly associating sleep disorders with attention and memory problems. Motor disorders, especially involving the dopaminergic system, may produce sleep problems, including a possible association between disordered sleep and nocturnal falls.

Frequent napping is associated with excessive daytime sleepiness, depression, pain, and nocturia in older adults: findings from the National Sleep Foundation '2003 Sleep in America' Poll.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence and correlates of regular napping among older adults.

Methods: The National Sleep Foundation's "2003 Sleep in America Poll," a 20-minute telephone interview that focused on the topic of "sleep and aging" (N = 1,506 adults 55-84 years of age).

Results: Overall, 15% of respondents reported regular napping, ranging in prevalence from 10% among those 55-64 years of age to 25% among those 75-84 years of age.

Sleep, health, and aging. Bridging the gap between science and clinical practice.

Problems with sleep are common with advancing years and occur in over half of adults age 65 and older. It has been estimated that insomnia affects about a third of the older population in this country. This inability to have restful sleep at night results in excessive daytime sleepiness, attention and memory problems, depressed mood, falls, and lowered quality of life.

Development of diagnostic criteria for defining sleep disturbance in Alzheimer's disease.

This article proposes new standards for identifying, defining, and naming sleep/wake cycle disturbances associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) to aid in more effective research, including the development and testing of potential treatments. Many AD patients develop sleep/wake cycle disturbances associated with distress, depression, and sleep disturbances in the caregiver, as well as early nursing home placement for the patient. The Food and Drug Administration Psychopharmacological Drugs Advisory Committee has emphasized the need for a comprehensive diagnostic system.

Sleep-disordered breathing and cognitive impairment in elderly Japanese-American men.

Study Objective: To assess the association between sleep-disordered breathing and cognitive functioning in an elderly cohort of Japanese-American men.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study of Sleep Apnea, Oahu, Hawaii.