The Signs and Symptoms of Insomnia As We Age

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Insomnia is often debilitating and may persist for days, months, or even years. It disrupts both sleeping and waking hours carrying with it a variety of symptoms that can keep you awake all night long.

An adult may have transient or intermittent insomnia that can last for a few days to months. The more severe type is called chronic insomnia, which may last for months and even years when left untreated.

Symptoms of Insomnia

It may be challenging to recognize your symptoms since insomnia can feel different for some people. There are, however, some tell-tell symptoms. These symptoms may include:

  • There is difficulty in falling asleep, taking more than 30 to 45 minutes or longer
  • There is trouble staying asleep and falling back to sleep when awoken during the night
  • Waking up frequently every night
  • Feelings of fatigue and irritability
  • Daytime sleepiness, drowsiness and migraine headaches
  • Lack of concentration or focus
  • Impaired memory

Risks of Untreated Insomnia with Aging

A transient or intermittent form of insomnia can quickly become acute or chronic as we age if it goes untreated. Insomnia in older adults is often ignored and passed off as a sign of aging. Without treatment, the sleep disorder can critically affect health and lifestyle with far-reaching ramifications.

Regardless of the cause of insomnia, the disorder can create a residual sleep deprivation that can lead to poor concentration, which may lead to accidents. This constant tiredness and clumsiness caused by lack of sleep can lead to physical injuries and other damages. Avoidance of symptoms can impact your mental health, even leading to depression and/or hallucinations.

Apart from daytime sleepiness, untreated insomnia has an adverse and wide-ranging effect on health, affecting the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, and nervous systems. One study shows that sleep insufficiency increases appetite, explaining the reason why insomnia is related to obesity. Obesity is largely ascribed as the contributing factor to sleep apnea, another sleep disorder.

Without treatment, insomnia can intensify chronic pain conditions by interfering with the body’s ability to control pain signals. Poor sleep can increase the amount of pain caused by certain illnesses associated with old age, such as, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia. The desire to get some sleep may lead you to depend on and be tolerant of over the counter or prescription sleep aids with side effects that can outweigh the benefits. Finding relief and treatment to manage insomnia is a justifiable reason to see a licensed therapist to effectively reduce or eliminate the potential risks of the sleep disorder.

Sleeping Better as You Get Older

Everyone deserves a good night’s sleep. There is no truth to the notion that poor sleep is a normal part of aging. It is true that sleep patterns change with age, but sleep deprivation is not and should not be associated with the aging process. You and all older adults require the same amount of sleep as they did in their 20s. No matter how much sleep you need, getting good quality sleep is vital to feeling better day in and day out.

If you or an older adult you know is struggling with insomnia and it is affecting your functioning, Carolina Counseling Services – Fayetteville, NC contracts with licensed professional counselors/therapists/psychologists who provide a friendly, relaxed atmosphere for everyone. The right therapist independently contracted with CCS can offer useful and effective interventions to help alleviate the symptoms of insomnia for wonderful days and nights ahead. It is time to put your sleepless nights to rest. Call now to schedule an appointment.

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