Dealing With Insomnia As We Age

Many people discover that sleep becomes harder and harder to get as they age. Either they cannot fall asleep until late at night or they fall asleep just fine, only to awaken a few short hours later, not rested and unhappy. There are many causes of insomnia, and it can affect just about anyone. Males and females experience this, as do people of all ages. But in the elderly, the number of people with sleeping problems seems to be on the increase.

Anxiety and stress can play a big part in the trouble that these folks have falling and staying asleep. And to make matters worse, when they finally realize that they are having sleeping difficulties, this only adds to the stressful situation. It can quickly turn into a downward spiral. Luckily, there are some things you can do to help yourself sleep better at night. The first thing is something that not enough people take advantage of: exercise. Exercising has physical and mental benefits, helping you sleep is just one of these benefits. Many people avoid exercise, however. Getting exercise doesn’t need to be elaborate. Walking for half an hour each day takes only a short while, and the benefits can drastically improve your lifestyle. Start out slow and work your way up until you are happy with the amount of exercise you are getting.

A second solution to getting more sleep is to get professional help. Depression is one of the leading causes of insomnia, yet the elderly are the most under-diagnosed demographic when it comes to depression. This doesn’t mean that they don’t experience this; it, more often means that they are not getting the help that they need and therefore are never given the diagnosis. Because this generation of folks was raised in a different world atmosphere, emotional problems were not addressed as often as they are now. This should not diminish the fact that they might have a problem, however. If you have a loved one that you think is suffering from depression, get them some psychological help. It can only do positive things. Depression can be alleviated in three ways: counseling, exercise, and medication. That’s right, just talking about it can help cure depression. Medication can also be prescribed that will help lift their mood. This should not be the only course of action, but rather a combination of the three will help the most. According to one study, an hour of exercise per day was deemed to be more beneficial than the average dosage of an antidepressant.

Sleep doesn’t need to slip away just because we age. Catching the solutions to insomnia might seem tough, but this is definitely a manageable syndrome. Getting help is an easy solution.