Top Causes of Sleep Problems

Experts believe that normal aging does bring some changes to sleep. Essentially, older adults tend to get sleepy earlier in the evening and tend to sleep less deeply than when they were younger. So, it’s probably realistic to expect that as you get older, you won’t be sleeping for as long or as soundly as when you were younger.

While aging does change sleep, it’s also not uncommon for older adults to develop health problems that can cause sleep issues. Figuring out what’s going on is always the first step in improving things. It’s important to remember that good quality sleep helps to maintain mental health, physical health, and mood.

Many older adults experience what’s called “secondary” sleep problems, which are due to an underlying medical condition. Heart and lung conditions, stomach and digestive issues, pain problems, and others can all cause sleep issues. It’s important to make sure one of these problems isn’t contributing to the problem. Treating the underlying problem can often improve sleep.

Snoring, sleep apnea, and other forms of sleep-related breathing disorders, which is an umbrella term covering a spectrum of problems related to how people breathe while asleep, can also cause poor sleep. Sleep apnea is a common condition, which is important to diagnose as it has been associated with many other health problems. In sleep apnea, a person has frequent pauses in their breathing during sleep. The most common form is obstructive sleep apnea, which pauses the breathing due to obstructions in the breathing passages. It is often associated with snoring. A less common form is central sleep apnea, which is due to changes in the brain.