Sleep Disturbances in the Institutionalized Aged

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Abstract
Nursing home residents (180), not psychotic or demented, average age 82 yr, were administered a 30-min structured interview to identify and characterize their sleeping patterns, health status, medications, psychosocial environment and living conditions. Both the residents and the night nurses rated quality of sleep on a 5-point scale. Residents were classified as having a sleep disturbance if they met at least 1 of the following criteria and reported poor sleep quality: onset of sleep latency > 30 min, 3 or more nighttime awakenings, and < 6 h sleep/night. Of the residents, 45% met at least 1 clinical research criterion. Residents with sleep disturbance rated their sleep quality significantly lower than their peers not meeting research criteria. The nurses'' ratings did not discriminate problem sleepers, and they correlated poorly with the residents'' ratings. These subjective patient evaluations are discussed in relation to nursing evaluations, prescription of hypnotic medications and other variables.

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