Many older adults have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.
They awaken often during the night, can t get back to sleep, and rise before dawn, symptoms that can cause daytime fatigue, impair normal functioning, and increase health-care costs. Some 12 to 25 percent of healthy seniors report chronic insomnia, but despite their weariness, less than 15 percent receive treatment. By changing habits and attitudes, older adults can sleep better and longer, the study reports. Seventy-eight adults with insomnia, including 50 women and 28 men, participated in the study. Subjects had to be 55 or older with insomnia for 6 months or more.