Essay Sample on Managing Sleep Disorder in the Elderly

Introduction

The topic that we covered this topic is very interesting and exposes me to several things that I have never known in life. It is all about managing sleep disorder at old age which most old people are vulnerable to. I support the idea that sleep change with the change in the age of a person. This is true because as people become of age, they are likely to increase the sleeping problem. I cannot dispute that difficulties and sleep disorder are the most common problems that old people experience in their lives. This is because these problems are poorly addressed by either healthcare officers or other family members. I strongly agree with what we learned that the main cause of sleep disorder is related to medical, psychological and social disturbances but it is unnecessary to believe that all elderly people should experience sleeping disorder. It can only increase the likelihood of developing sleeping disorders which means that elderly persons who have experienced the problem should be in a position to manage it.

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The topic was powerful to me in many ways. It enabled me to learn several things which I have never known about sleep. The topic helps me identify two types of sleep that elderly person experience. They include rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement sleep where each has five stages. Without going through this topic, it is difficult to differentiate between Non-rem and Rem sleeps whereby non REM is a situation where heart rate slows and breathing and blood pressure drops. On the contrary REM sleep is associated with loss of sleep due to shortness of sleep. The topic was also powerful to me because I could understand various sleep disorder in aging that older people should manage. They include insomnia which is associated with difficulties in falling asleep or inability to stay asleep. I could understand this disorder as it is associated with distress that happens for only a period of one month. Furthermore, because of this topic, I am able to acknowledge different symptoms of insomnia, its causes and behavioral issues associated with it. I am able to understand and appreciate that this disease is caused by medicinal, mental, and psychiatric issues to ecological and social issues. At the same time, it can be acquired through drug abuse that has the capacity to increase physiologic processes, alcohol, medications, or other substances. Depression is also another sleep disorder which is likely to cause insomnia and this shows why old people seek treatment when they have depression. Other factors that because depression include social isolation, functional impairment, and financial strain and all these are likely to sleeplessness. From this topic, I also learned that insomnia and depression do not cause severe daytime sleepiness because they have the power to influence early time awakening or having some difficulties in starting to sleep. From the topic, I also came to know that sleep disorder breathing and sleep apnea have the power to disturb the sleeping pattern of old people. It is estimated that this disorder affects more than 25% of old people

I chose this topic because the problem of the sleeping problem is too common in an elderly person and few people understand how to manage it. Furthermore, it is a very interesting topic for me as I can it can help me understand various sleeping disorders and their various pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment options that elderly persons can use. I also loved the topic because it highlights the importance of sleep in a human being, especially elderly people. The choice of the topic is significant in exposing the importance of sleep to daily functions of an individual, alertness, and quality of life that one requires. The topic is also appropriate in providing education to different people as it can educate the public on the number of hours one require to sleep at night so as to have the potential to execute normal physiologic processes each day. Interestingly, the topic seems to elaborate on what aging does to elderly persons. Personally, I believe it is true that old age is associated with a decrease in the quality of nighttime sleep and the result indicates that 30% of elderly persons undergo through chronic insomnia. I concur with the information available in various articles which show the extent to which age-related insomnia is associated to change in the strength of the circadian regulation of sleep, which is likely to cause the destruction of the sleep-wake cycle.

Conclusion

Truly my personal experiences influence my decision to choose this topic. I have actually faced the same challenge. I have seen elderly persons suffering from systemic illnesses which result from poor sleep. In most cases, I have lived with many elderly persons and their lifestyle is accompanied by a change in sleeping patterns which sometimes result into loss of sleep during the day thus changing the quality of life that they live. I cannot deny that fact because most elderly people's experience difficulties in falling asleep or cannot stay asleep for a long time. All these changes are likely to contribute to other grievous problems that can easily be more prevalent in the future.

Nocturia-related awakenings disrupt sleep and cause fatigue and also lead to an increase in the number of falls at night. Furthermore, Sleep apnea is also associated with nighttime falls. There are also other human behaviors that have an impact on sloe pf people of advanced age. They include exercise; caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol intake; pain; anxiety; and stress. On the basis of what I came across, I realized that the sleep disorders in old people can be prevented and treated. This is true because there are several interventions and medical practices that can be used to solve the problem caused by these disorders. They include education of patients and it is vital in ensuring that patients engage in activities that increase their sleep. I, therefore, cannot object what we were taught in class about sleep disorder in elderly. During the lesson, I realized that there are also some students who had no information about sleep disorders such as depression and insomnia. They did not even know that there are some interventions that can be done to reduce the dangers of sleep disorders in an elderly person. Some of the students have not heard about sleep disorders and the lessons they learned this semester was instrumental in their lives. I therefore strongly believe that we leaned very important topic that gives us an insight on what to do to mitigate such issues when we become of age.