Insomnia is defined as the inability to fall asleep, the inability to stay asleep or waking up earlier than desired. In order to have a clinical diagnosis of insomnia the patient must have an adequate sleep opportunity  and adequate sleep environment. The sleep disturbance must also have an impact on their quality of life by causing any of the following: fatigue, impaired cognitive performance, mood disturbance, daytime sleepiness, behavioural problems, reduced motivation, proneness for errors or worry about sleep. Insomnia is categorised as chronic if it persists for more than 3 months and short term if it has lasted fewer than 3 months. The most recent International Classification of Sleep Disorders no longer emphasizes previously distinguished insomnia subtypes or insomnia comorbid with mental or medical disorders. Even when insomnia is related to another condition, treatment of the comorbid condition often doesnt cure the insomnia.

Sleep and Aging

The quality of our sleep often deteriorates as we age. People tend to sleep less and are prone to more waking episodes after initially falling asleep. Sleep latency – the time it takes to fall asleep – may also increase. Some studies suggest that, beginning in middle age, the average person loses 27 minutes of sleep per night for each subsequent decade.

These decreases in sleep quality and duration are tied to the body’s internal timekeeping systems. The body cannot process circadian signals as efficiently, which in turn may cause older people to go to bed and wake up at earlier times.

Our sleep architecture also changes as we age and seniors are more susceptible to waking episodes during the night and also affects how refreshed and alert they feel in the........

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