Sleep Interruptions

Sleep Interruptions

Ah, the beauty of great architecture. The Guggenheim, Versailles, the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Your nightly sleep. Yes, your nightly sleep. It has what sleep specialists like to call an architecture. But instead of a static architecture like that of a building, your sleep architecture is an active structure that refreshes your mind and body.

That is, it’s refreshing if the next-door neighbor’s Schnauzer, Pinkie, doesn’t wake you up at 3:00 in the morning with a howl. Or if that late-night cocktail catches up with you, forcing a nocturnal visit to the bathroom. You see, in addition to being a thing of beauty, the architecture of your sleep can turn into a house of cards—particularly as you age.

“I’ve turned into such a light sleeper” is a common complaint of many older people. And it’s quite true that older people catch less deep sleep, particularly the most restful and restorative kind, says Patricia Prinz, Ph.D., professor of behavioral nursing and adjunct professor of psychiatry and behavior sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. As a result, you may find that you wake up a lot more easily than you used to. And once awake, you may find that it’s devilishly hard to nod off again.

But why does this happen more to older people? Well, for one thing, the older you are, the more likely it is that you’ll have some medical disorders, such as arthritis, restless legs, or heartburn. If you have pain or discomfort during the night, you’re just more likely to wake up, says Dr. Prinz.

Of course, loud snoring or apnea could be your nocturnal wake-up call, so check the chapters about those conditions. And if you just can’t fall asleep, that’s an insomnia problem, which is also another chapter. But if you want to head off other disturbances that are shortchanging your hours of rest, read on.

Try This First

Tire yourself out. Daily physical activity not only helps make you tired enough to sleep, but it can improve sleep itself, states Margaret Moline, Ph.D., director of the sleep-wake disorders center at the New York Presbyterian Hospital–Cornell Medical Center in White Plains, New York. People who are more physically fit generally have more deep sleep.

Get out and walk during the late afternoon, and you’ll be less likely to wake up in the middle of the night, says Phyllis Zee, M.D., Ph.D., director of the sleep disorders center and associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago.

Other Wise Ways

Sleep and rise at the same time. The regular pattern that helps prevent insomnia can also help ensure uninterrupted sleep. Put your body on a regular schedule, says Dr. Prinz.

Black out your room. You need to have a dark, quiet place to sleep, says Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Ph.D., director of the sleep disorders clinic at the Veteran’s Affairs Health Care System in San Diego, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and author of All I Want Is a Good Night’s Sleep. In darkness, our bodies secrete melatonin, which makes us sleepy, explains Dr. Ancoli-Israel. Be sure to cover the windows with dark blinds or drapes. To a light sleeper, the dawn’s early light can be as wakeful as an alarm clock.

Quiet your restless legs. Older people may suffer from restless legs and periodic leg movements during sleep. These movements may be associated with vitamin deficiencies, anemia, thyroid disease, or peripheral nerve disorders. If you or your bed partner jerks a leg even a little, that can interrupt your sleep. When you have leg movements, get up and walk around, or massage your legs lightly to bring some relief, Dr. Zee says. For severe cases, doctors can prescribe medications to relieve restless legs.

Take some iron or folate. A lack of each of these nutrients can contribute to increased leg kicks in the night, says Peter Hauri, M.D., co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Rochester, Minnesota, and author of No More Sleepless Nights. Try an iron and folate supplement for two weeks and see if that one-two combination helps you sleep through the night. If it does, see your doctor to discuss your condition and long-term treatment.

Cut down on caffeine. Even if you are able to drowse off, too much caffeine can contribute to a light-sleep pattern. If you drink coffee, tea, or caffeinated sodas throughout the day, try to cut back to two servings before noon and none thereafter. If that doesn’t work, you may have to avoid caffeine altogether, Dr. Hauri advises.

Make your nightcap nonalcoholic. Alcohol may initially sedate you, but after your body processes it, the alcohol can actually stimulate you enough to wake you up, Dr. Moline says. Try not to drink any alcohol in the evening.

Try pain relief. Chronic pain from conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis can disrupt sleep, so don’t forget to ask your doctor for recommendations on which pain relievers to take before going to bed, advises Lauren Broch, Ph.D., director of education and training at the sleep-wake disorders center at New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center in White Plains, New York. Or see other chapters in this book about relieving specific kinds of pain, and use some of those remedies for relief before you turn in.

Beat the heat. A cool room is more conducive to sleeping than a hot one. To stay cool, Suzanne Woodward, Ph.D., clinical director of sleep research and assistant professor of psychiatry at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, recommends that you wear cotton nightwear and sleep between cotton sheets and covers. It’s also a good idea to take a cool bath or shower before bedtime—and keep some chipped ice or ice water near the bed to cool you down when you wake up. Even in winter, use a fan to keep the air circulating around your face and neck. Or stick your feet out of the blankets to help stay cooler.

Breathe deeply. Slow abdominal breathing is a relaxation technique that can help minimize a hot flash during the day, but it can also help a woman in the middle of the night if she is awakened by one. Men who are light sleepers are also helped by this technique, Dr. Woodward says. This type of breathing exercise increases your intake of oxygen and gives you something to focus on other than the fact that you are awake.

Concentrate on breathing regularly but a little more slowly, at a pace of 8 to 10 breaths a minute. When you breathe in, feel your abdomen rise, not your chest. To test if you are doing it correctly, place a hand on your chest and a hand on your stomach. It’s the hand on your stomach that should be rising and falling, explains Dr. Woodward.

Hydrate early in the day. Seniors are no different than other age groups when it comes to needing eight, eight-ounce glasses of water a day. But because men often have prostate problems as they age, a drink of water too close to bedtime can mean that you have to get up repeatedly in the night. Try to drink more liquids early in the day, Dr. Zee advises. She recommends that you stop drinking two to three hours before bedtime and then urinate right before you go to bed.

Flummox reflux. The older you get, the more likely you are to be awakened by symptoms of heartburn or gastroesophogeal reflux. Eat a light dinner, and avoid caffeine, alcohol, smoking, and an after-dinner mint—all the things that can make reflux worse, advises Roger L. Gebhard, M.D., gastroenterologist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at the University of Minnesota, both in Minneapolis. Or prop up the head of your bed to raise your head and chest a little higher than your stomach, he suggests. If you put the legs at the head of your bed on six-inch blocks, that may be enough to help hold off heartburn through the night.