Even modest activity may help reduce heart disease risk
Many older adults have sleep problems that can be caused by aging. But other issues also contribute to the prevalence of sleep complaints, and they should be discussed and investigated, experts said.
A national poll conducted by the University of Michigan and released in October found that almost half of those 65 and older have trouble getting to sleep, and more than a third are taking prescription or over-thecounter sleep aids, washingtonpost. com reported.
Adam Spira, a sleep researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said, “Older adults also have problems staying asleep.
“Good sleep protects against negative outcomes, and those who sleep poorly are at higher risk of functional decline and depression.”
The American College of Physicians (ACP) defines chronic insomnia as the presence of symptoms of distress and impairment that last for at least three nights a week for at least three months and are not linked to medical or mental problems or other sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome.
The National Sleep Foundation says older adults need about the same amount of sleep as other adults — seven to eight hours a night.
Spira said, “Changes in sleep occur throughout a person’s life.
“In later years, there are decreases in total sleep time, increases in sleep fragmentation and decreases in deep sleep.”
David N. Neubauer, a clinical faculty member in the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center, said, “Many people experience a circadian rhythm shift as they age, such that they awaken earlier in the morning and do not feel they are able to get enough sleep.
“Later in life, there also tend to be other factors that undermine good sleep quality.
“Older adults may have suffered personal losses or have worries about the future.”
Spira said, “As a group, older adults also have more health problems, which, along with the medications they take, can be major drivers of sleep problems.”
Experts said, “However, both older adults who are healthy and those with chronic medical conditions should use caution in taking overthe-counter and prescription sleeping aids.
Studies show that older people who take sleeping pills, also called sedative-hypnotics and tranquilizers, sleep only a little longer and a little better than those who don’t take them, according to Choosing Wisely, an initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine.
The ACP also said that over-thecounter a short time (four to five weeks).
The Food and Drug Administration advises that if insomnia doesn’t go away within seven to 10 days of treatment with drugs, a patient should see a doctor for reevaluation.
Neubauer said, “Prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs should be used only after any possible underlying problems are assessed.
“Evaluations should include exploring behavior or schedule changes that might be conducive to sleep and making sure that a patient’s use
Alatest study suggested that more than 40 percent of employees in Switzerland are not able to work as flexibly as two years ago, which is impacting on their work-life balance and driving up stress levels, local media Siwssinfo reported.
Almost 48 percent of the surveyed employees in Switzerland said they had no or little influence on their work hours, which was up from 38 percent in 2015, according to the third good work barometer commissioned by the Swiss employers’ association travail Suisse, xinhuanet.com wrote.
The study looked at employees’ motivation, job security and workplace health.
Gabriel Fischer, head of economic policy at Travail Suisse, said, “Forty-one percent of those polled felt they were often stressed or very stressed at work. This is clearly far too many.
“Stress and emotional exhaustion are things that many workers have to deal with every day.”
The abolishing of stamping in, or recording time worked, had led to people working longer for free.
Travail Suisse head Adrian Wuthrich, said, “Travail Suisse fights against any attack on the work law and on the registration of work hours and workplace health protection.”
For the first time the study has taken into account the impact of digitalization, on which one in 10 of the surveyed were concerned of a high or very high possibility that their work would be replaced by digital technology in the next 10 years.
Among the most worried were those working in retail, finance and insurance sectors, as well as those with a lower level of education. The study thus called on employers and the government to do more for the promotion of continuing education of the employees. at bedtime and is more likely to help people when taken a few hours before.”
Behavioral changes can also be effective in tackling sleep issues. In 2016, the ACP recommended for the first time that cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) be the first-line treatment for adults with chronic insomnia.
The ACP’S president stated that although there is not enough evidence to directly compare CBT-I and drug treatment, CBT-I is likely to be less harmful, while sleep medications can be associated with serious adverse effects.
CBT-I is a combination of treatments including cognitive therapy, behavioral interventions such as sleep restriction and stimulus control, and helping develop habits conducive to a good night’s sleep.
Luis Buenaver, director of the Sleep Medicine Program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, recommended that a bed be used only for sleep.
“It is not for watching television or hanging out,” he said.
“People should not go to sleep if they are not tired, and people should try to wake up every day at the same time to train their circadian clock.”
Neubauer said, “The morning wake-up time is a critical period when the circadian system is sensitive to being reset.
“Getting up at about the same time each morning stabilizes our internal rhythm and makes it more likely that we will be able to fall asleep eight hours earlier” than that time.
“Because sleep difficulties can result from a multitude of problems, including physical and mental disorders.
“It’s always good to check with a health professional when sleep problems persist.”
Michael Smith, a professor of psychology and behavioral science at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said, “We need to emphasize that doctors and patients should begin to think of sleep as a major indicator of health, and doctors should recommend treatment and sleep clinics to patients who are having problems.” Don’t try saying you’re too busy to exercise, especially after a calorieladen dinner.
Any level of physical activity can reduce seniors’ risk of heart disease, researchers report, UPI reported. The 18-year study included more than 24,000 adults aged 39 to 79. They found a link between physical activity and reduced risk of heart disease in both elderly and middle-aged people.
Study first author and cardiologist Sangeeta Lachman, who is with the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, said, “Elderly people who were moderately inactive had a 14 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular events compared to those who were completely inactive.
“This suggests that even modest levels of physical activity are beneficial to heart health.”
No gym nearby? That’s not a problem. Seniors should be encouraged to at least do low-intensity physical activities, such as walking, gardening, and housework, she said.
The study results were published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
“Given our aging population and the impact of cardiovascular disease on society, a broader array of public health programs are needed to help elderly people engage in any physical activity of any level and avoid being completely sedentary,” Lachman concluded in a journal news release.