Living With Purpose May Help Seniors Sleep Soundly

A study was recently conducted that seems to have discovered that seniors who feel like they have a clear purpose in life end up sleeping better at night. The study concludes that people who feel like “they have a reason to get up” have less problems falling asleep at night and get a better night’s sleep overall. The study found that those who believe they have meaning in their lives have a much less chance of having sleep apnea, which is a condition that causes a person’s breathing to stop several times an hour during sleep, or restless leg syndrome, which causes uncomfortable sensations in the legs and an urge to move them. Clinicians often prefer non-drug solutions to help people improve sleep, a practice that is recommended by the American College of Physicians as a “first-line treatment for insomnia”. This is important because there seem to be more and more seniors dealing with insomnia.

The participants in the study ranged in age from 60 years old to 100 years old. In total, more than 800 people took part in the study. Also, it is important to note that nobody in the study suffered from dementia. Although this research was limited to seniors, the researches believe that their findings can would probably apply to other age groups as well.