Sleep duration during the 24-hour day is associated with the severity of dementia in nursing home patients

✍ Scribed by Arne Fetveit; Bjørn Bjorvatn

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 76 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/gps.1587

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Study objectives

To describe the characteristics of 24‐h sleep patterns in nursing home patients with dementia, and to determine whether various degrees of dementia have any influence on total sleep duration.

Design and setting

Cross‐sectional study in a nursing home population (n = 23) consisting of patients with varying degree of dementia. Sleep was measured with actigraphy for a consecutive period of 14 days, based on individual bed and rising time, which was registered by nursing home staff.

Measurements and results

Mean age ± standard deviation was 86.1 ± 7.0 (range 72–96) and mean Mini‐Mental Status Examination Score (MMSE) was 13.4 ± 5.3 (range 1–21). Ten patients had MMSE ≤ 12. Sleep was extremely fragmented, with frequent wake bouts during nighttime and frequent naps during daytime. During the 24‐h period, patients spent nearly 13 h asleep, distributed as more than 9 h of nighttime sleep and more than 3 h of daytime sleep. Patients with severe degree of dementia (MMSE ≤ 12) slept significantly longer during the 24‐h day than patients with lesser degree of dementia (MMSE > 12). There was no significant difference in age between the dementia sub‐groups.

Conclusion

Sleep duration during the 24‐h day was positively correlated with the severity of dementia in nursing home patients. This is in contrast with total sleep time seen in healthy elderly, which shows a gradually decline with age. Changes in sleep patterns in dementia could be explained by co‐morbid and environmental factors, as well as unknown pathological changes related to dementing illnesses. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.