The elderly population has been increasing over the past decade and now with the baby boomers entering into this population it only applies more pressure to an ever increasing dilemma on how to improve their health. Sleep is essential to a person’s well being and cognitive function. Research studies have shown that there is significant decline in a person’s cognitive function when they do not receive an adequate night’s sleep. The secret to aging healthfully is getting enough sleep to allow the body to heal and rejuvenate from the day’s experiences and traumas. This paper is a review of the literature in response to sleep and its effects on cognitive function in the elderly population with a brief discussion on nursing implications.
Sleep is defined according to Bombois et al, 2010 as a “psychological process characterized by several cycles of different sleep states within a twenty-four hour period.”( Bombois et al, 2010) The article describes that people with these disturbances are at an increase risk for “mortality, cardiovascular changes and neurobehavioral co-morbities as well.” This article describes dementia patients and also lists the different reasons elderly people may have that cause sleep disturbances.
The cyclical process of sleep is moving through four phases, according to Hall, 1998 Rapid Eye Movement (REM) being the most important of these. A person enters REM sleep every ninety to one hundred twenty minutes in their sleeping cycle depending on what article one may read. REM is where the brain processes the day’s events and the body heals. Interestingly this is also where the skeletal muscles of the body become paralyzed and the only functioning muscle is the pharyngeal ones holding the airway open. “A perso...
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...ation: A cross sectional study in 2947 community dwelling older adults. American Aging Association. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/content/p87v1v3304253172/fulltext.pdf
Vance, D., Eagerton, G., Harnish, b., McKie, P., & Fazeli, P. (2011). Cognitive prescriptions: A Nursing approach to increasing cognitive reserve. Journal of Gerontological Nursing. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/docview/859768514/fulltextPDF?accountid=10559#
Yaffe, K., Laffan, A., Stephanie Litwack Harrison, Redline, S., Ensrud, K., Sonia Ancoli Israel, & Stone, K. (2011, August 10). Sleep-Disordered Breathing, Hypoxia, and Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Older Women (Vol 306, No. 6 ed., pp. 613-619). JAMA. Retrieved from http://jama.ama-assn.org.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/content/306/6/613.full.pdf
Chronic sleep loss is becoming more common in modern culture and less restricted to sleep-deprived diseases such as insomnia. Suggested to be the result of a number car, industrial, medical, and other occupational accidents, sleep deprivation is beginning to be recognized as a public concern. As a result, the Centers for Disease Control
The article "Causes and consequences of sleep deprivation in hospitalized patients" written by Stephanie Pilkington is exploring the causes and consequences of sleep deprivation in hospitalized patients. The author provides a brilliant summary of factors that affect the level of sleep experienced by patients in hospitals and the effects of sleep deprivation on the health and the wellbeing of these individuals. The article goes on to state that for sleep-deprived patients, there were bio-cognitive consequences for their health and recovery, with particular effects on immune functioning, inflammation, parasympathetic equilibrium, carbohydrate metabolism and cognitive performance.
Those that have a bad sleep pattern most likely suffer from sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is a significant loss of sleep that results in concentration problems and is detrimental to one's health. The symptoms of sleep deprivatio...
Wells, Mary Ellen, and Bradley V. Vaughn. "Poor Sleep Challenging The Health Of A Nation." Neurodiagnostic Journal 52.3 (2012): 233-249. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 May 2014.
Based on the 5 studies above, a modest observation is seen between sleep deprivation and CVD. These study findings are of clinical importance as they suggest the probable usage of sleep duration as an additional risk marker for prevalence of CVD, regardless of ethnicity. Although implication of short sleep duration on CVD is consistent in various populations, it still differs within gender, age groups and race. Future research, using current studies as a framework, is needed to further prove the complex mechanisms underlying the causal relationship between sleep deprivation and CVD. Health authorities should also continuously promote the importance of adequate sleep as it is vital for better physical health and cognitive functioning.
Sleep is a behavior universal to all people, yet it remains largely a mystery. Chronic sleep deprivation has become rampant throughout western society, for a number of reasons. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of sleep deprivation, with major objectives being to identify what sleep is, and the reasons for sleep. An emphasis is also placed on the effect, symptoms, causes and ways to combat sleep deprivation. These areas are of particular interest to those seeking to investigate sleep deprivation, or individuals who suffer from sleep deprivation by investigating the symptoms, causes and strategies to combat sleep deprivation.
Sleep deprivation is a severe problem that can cause a variety of negative effects in everyday lives. Sleep is required for our survival and relied on for our mental and physical wellbeing. Because there is a greater awareness of the problems associated with sleep deprivation, our society is very fortunate to have the resources to seek the help that is needed.
Fifty to seventy million U.S. adults were reported with sleep and/or wakefulness disorder in 2010? This is caused by lack of sleep throughout an entire population of people. Many people think there are more important matters to take care of rather than just sleep. Sleep helps the body and mind focus while awake and functioning. Enough rest is quite crucial to being awake during the day. Enough sleep is important because it keeps people awake and focused during the day, even though people’s sleep requirements vary, and how lack of sleep affects the body and mind.
The sleep study was limited somewhat by a reduced total sleep time seen and of note there was no supine sleep sampled. In the non-supine sleep seen, there was a moderate degree of obstructive sleep apnoea with an AHI of 16 events/hr which has significantly worse in REM sleep.
Health is a complex concept, and when we talk about health we refer to body health and to the health of the mind, the health of relationships between us and those around us, the spiritual health. Looking online on one of the additional resources recommended, www.nimh.nih.gov, I have noticed that one of the symptoms of most diseases that affect a person's mental health is lack of sleep. Lack of sleep not only worsens man's mental health, but also causes serious imbalances in metabolism, immunity, general mood, and last but not least, affects the ability of learning and memorizing among students. The sleep fulfills a number of vital functions for both our mind and body. We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, which is a valuable and useful
Many phases and function of sleep are still under intense research, however judging from a simple fact - all animals do sleep, it is obvious that its role is indubitable. Nonetheless, many people are still having the mind set of sleep is merely a time-wasting-activity. Even among professionals who perform crucial roles such as doctors, teachers, engineers are willing to compromise their sleep, with a simple excuse, busy. In short, they are experiencing either acute total sleep deprivation or more common, chronic partial sleep restriction[2]. Many effects of both types of sleep deprivation were investigated, in particular health, attention, decision making.
The authors and scientists from a different study by the U.S National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health on long and short-term sleep deprivation state directly that “in certain jobs, people face sleep restriction. Some professions such as health care… require working at night. In such fields, the effect of acute total sleep deprivation (SD) on performance is crucial” (Alhola & Polo-Kantola, Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance). Depending on their schedule, nurses can often be susceptible to sleep deprivation and are no exception, especially if they are working long hours. The study performed research on how acute and chronic sleep deprivation can affect the brain and how it can slow down or worsen thought process and rationality throughout the day for working adults. The authors also explain that “motor function, rhythm, receptive and expressive speech, and memory ...deteriorated after one night of SD.” (Alhola and Polo-Kantola, Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance) Although everybody is affected by a lack of sleep differently, some might have the ability to handle it a lot better than others, but it is fair to say that no one can perform their jobs perfectly if their brains are being affected by sleep deprivation. This organization concludes this study by explaining that there is still much research that needs to be
Sleep disorders are an underestimated public health concern considering that fifty to seventy million Americans are affected. Technological advances in the field of sleep have facilitated various theories to explain the need for and the purpose of sleep. Scientist have uncovered many types of sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy. Sleep disorders affect men ,women, children, the elderly, and the obese in different ways. Factors such as the number of children and the effects of menopause have been studied to determine their effects on sleep. Various treatments have been utilized ranging from non-pharmacologic to pharmacologic methods. Scientist have pinpointed areas of the brain that are involved in sleep deprivation and hormones that ultimately affect sleep.
Sleep is a very important factor in the human function. Our body and brain is able to reset itself and rejuvenate while we sleep. When we do not get the required amount of sleep, we start to feel lethargic and foggy minded, because our mind and body wasn’t able to replenish itself. Sleep is imperative that an insignificant rest deficiency or lack of sleep can affect our ability to remember things; decisions and can affect our temperament. Chronic sleep deficiency can get the body to feel agitated and it could lead to serious health problems such as, heart problems, stress, acne, and obesity.
Wells, M., & Vaughn, B. V. (2012). Poor Sleep Challenging the Health of a Nation. Neurodiagnostic Journal,52(3), 233-249.