
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 29, 1990                   TAG: 9003290637
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

SLEEPLESSNESS NOT INEVITABLE FOR ELDERLY

Disease, emotional distress and poor sleep habits are the cause of sleeplessness among the elderly, not just age alone, according to a new study by a National Institutes of Health panel of experts.

"The [common belief] that you don't need as much sleep as you age is not true," said Dr. Robert Joynt, vice president of health affairs at the University of Rochester and chairman of the NIH panel that studied sleep problems among the elderly.

"In healthy, older people without an accompanying medical disease, there are very few complaints of sleep disorders," Joynt said Wednesday at a news conference. "Sleep problems are not because of the aging process alone, but because of other diseases."

Attempts to treat troubled sleep among the elderly often lead to an overuse of drugs or over-the-counter medications that are ineffective or even make the condition worse, the report by the 14-member panel said.

Sleep problems often are caused by poor sleep habits such as drinking caffeine at night or drinking fluids that cause people to awaken at night to go to the bathroom, Joynt said.

The report said exercise, going to bed the same time each night and "the use of the bedroom primarily for sleeping and sexual activity" may help.

-Associated Press

by CNB