Keywords

Healthy aging, psychiatric syndromes, sleep, sleep patterns

Abstract

Humans spend approximately 1/3 of their lives asleep. Whether due to evolutionary or ontogenetic factors, sleep and psychiatric disorders change with age. While much of sleep remains an enigma, the field of sleep research is experiencing an exponential increase in its understanding of the causes, correlates, and consequences of sleep disturbances. Although the relationship between age-related sleep and psychiatric conditions is a common clinical observation, empirical investigations into these associations remain scarce. Thus, treating patients with symptoms of sleep disorders in the context of psychiatric conditions remains a major challenge. This chapter reviews the state-of-the-science of sleep disorders in the context of psychiatric conditions in late-life.

Original Publication Citation

Kay DB, Dzierzewski JM. Sleep in the context of healthy aging and psychiatric syndromes. Sleep Med Clin. 2015;10(1):11-15. PMCID: PMC4347465.