A person's age comes, easy to "old" in the face - the original black hair mixed with gray hair; face more deep wrinkles; eyelids gradually drooping ...... In addition to the face of aging, but also reflected in the sleep.
See if you have faced such sleep troubles:
? Watching TV and napping, lying in bed with a sense of fatigue
? Toss and turn in bed, just can not sleep
? Wake up easily in the middle of the night and many times during the night
? The first thing you need to do is to get up before dawn and sleep for a shorter period of time
If you are in line with the above characteristics, insomnia is often "looking for you". A survey showed that 1964 cases of 65 years old and older, there are a variety of sleep disorder symptoms 1488 cases, the prevalence of 75.8% ; meet the diagnostic criteria for insomnia 212 cases, the prevalence of 10.8 % .
Poor sleep can further undermine the health of older people and accelerate the aging of the human body.
Why do older people often have trouble sleeping?
Everyone who lies in bed and tries everything to get to sleep is really devastated. This is a situation that even young people may not be able to withstand, let alone the elderly.
So why can't the elderly always sleep and sleep well?
The physiological factors that affect the sleep of older people are, of course, age. Some studies have shown that as we age, cognitive impairment in older adults affects mood, which in turn affects sleep.
There is a hormone that controls sleep in the body - pineal gland hormone - and once you get older, its secretion decreases, and the ability to regulate sleep gradually weakens.
In addition, it is also related to other external factors:
1, perennial illness, medication
Elderly people more or less have some underlying diseases, such as palpitations, hypertension, arthritis and so on, which can affect sleep and easily lead to insomnia. Some studies have already proved that hypertension, osteoporosis, Parkinson's, heart disease, etc. can cause secondary insomnia .
Some older people need to take medication year-round because they suffer from certain underlying diseases. When taking some antihypertensive drugs, diuretics, asthma medications and so on will affect sleep.
2, love drinking, smoking
A person who smokes and drinks all year round is more likely to suffer from insomnia than a person who does not smoke or drink. A study published in the Journal of Sleep reported that nicotine contained in cigarettes or e-cigarettes is more likely to cause sleep disorders when compared to alcohol, especially when smoked at night.
So keep smoking and drinking, and wait until you get older and have worse sleep problems!
3, emotional depression, anxiety
With age, the elderly may worry about the family and overwhelmed, worried about certain diseases, and so on, prone to sad emotions. Some surveys have shown that people who sleep less than 6 hours are associated with pessimism and self-esteem.
An elderly person who is often depressed, downtrodden, and anxious is prone to insomnia if he or she is not cared for by the family for a long time, and if it is difficult to improve pessimism.
4, the surrounding environment
Quiet, comfortable, airy environment is suitable for the elderly to sleep, on the contrary, noisy, dirty environment is easy to make the elderly sleep disorder.
The dryness and humidity of the environment also have an impact on sleep. There was a study that showed that elderly people living in damp buildings are more likely to suffer from insomnia. The ideal humidity level for a sleep environment for seniors is 55% to 60%.
Waking up in the middle of the night can be a sign of elevated blood pressure
Waking up in the middle of the night can be a sign of a good night's sleep.
Some elderly people often wake up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, and many don't take this seriously, thinking it's just the urge to pee in the middle of the night or being woken up by certain noises.
But there is another possibility that we must pay attention to, often wake up in the middle of the night may be - night high blood pressure . Some of the elderly people who are suffering from "three highs", atherosclerosis, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, it is very likely to cause a rise in blood pressure at night.
When an elderly person develops high blood pressure at night, it means that the blood pressure receptors in his body become less sensitive and cannot help his body regulate blood pressure.
In the middle of the night, the metabolism of the body's organs slows down, and if the blood pressure suddenly rises at this time, it can harm the brain, heart, and other organs over time.
So, Ken recommends that people who wake up at night insist on measuring their blood pressure before going to bed and after waking up in the morning, and take antihypertensive medication as prescribed.
The more you sleep, the better? Be careful of the opposite
Young people love to stay up late, sleep less hurt, then the elderly sleep long enough, is not very healthy?
Of course not! Both young and old, not the more sleep the better. How much or how little sleep you get affects your health.
One study found that sleeping more than 9 hours increases the chance of death. Once you notice that an elderly person in your home is experiencing drowsiness, it can be a sign of illness.
? Alzheimer's disease: decreased brain cell activity, poor concentration
? Diabetic ketoacidosis: more than 8 or 9 hours of sleep, but still "sleepy"
? Stroke: dizziness, fatigue, tingling in hands and feet at the same time
? Hypothyroidism: accompanied by fear of cold, elevated blood lipids, reduced mobility and so on
So, how long is the appropriate sleep time for the elderly?
A survey by the American Anti-Cancer Society shows that people who sleep enough for 7-8 hours a day have the longest life expectancy; the elderly sleep less than 7 hours a day, and brain aging is delayed for 2 years.
So, over 60 years old, the appropriate insomnia time is 5.5 to 7 hours , the nap time is best not more than 40 minutes.
Relying on their own "internal and external conditioning" to sleep better
Sleeping well is one of the secrets of longevity. If you want to improve your sleep, the key lies in self-regulation through internal and external. Take action, don't wait for your body to become unwell before you regret it!
Internal adjustment
1, dinner is not too full
Older people's gastrointestinal digestive function is relatively poor, if the dinner is too full, too greasy, it is easy to increase the burden of the stomach, resulting in insomnia. Therefore, the elderly dinner to eat seven minutes full can, eat less difficult to digest food, 1 hour before bedtime do not eat .
2, avoid drinking strong tea before bedtime
Many elderly people will drink tea as a habit, but the tea contains caffeine, will make people's mental stimulation, should not drink before bedtime.
3, mood fluctuations
Before going to bed to calm down, through walking, meditation to regulate mental activity, to avoid abnormal mood swings.
External adjustment
1, care of the feet
First, use hot water to soak your feet to promote blood circulation, and then with the massage of the soles of the feet of the Sleeping Points, Yongquan points to improve sleep. One hour before bedtime, you can rub repeatedly until the soles of the feet are hot and the points feel sore and swollen, and massage for 20 minutes.
2, the choice of bedding
The elderly often have joint problems, bedding to choose to meet the characteristics of the elderly body. Elderly people are suitable to sleep board bed, on which a mattress of moderate thickness can be padded; the choice of cotton wool pillows, bushy pillows, foam pillows and other elasticity of the pillow better.
3, sleep environment
Before going to bed, open the window to ventilate, so that the indoor air is fresh; the bedroom to keep the light dark, quiet; to keep the bedding clean, neat, every two weeks or a month to wash .
4, keep moving
Older people should stick to the habit of exercise, not only for the body, even the quality of sleep will improve. Jian suggests that elderly people are best to exercise 3 times a week, each time more than 30 minutes , you can choose to play badminton, table tennis, tai chi, square dance and other sports.