Why does an older person sleep all the time. Is it a problem that older people sleep a lot? What does it mean if an elderly person sleeps a lot

The slumbering old man evokes a kind smile in the majority. It is normal when in old age you want to sleep during the day. The body gets tired faster, it needs more time to recover. But doctors wondered: when old man sleeping a lot, what does that mean. And the answer turned out to be disappointing - most often the duration of a night's sleep for more than 10 hours indicates the presence of pathological processes.

How much sleep should old people sleep

Many believe that with age, the need for sleep decreases, and a person of 60-70 years old is enough to get enough sleep, only 6-7 hours of night rest. This is a common mistake. The exact amount of time needed for sleep by a particular person can only be determined individually by experience. But in 90% of adults, it fluctuates between 7-9 hours.

It is easy to check how much you personally need to sleep - the body itself will tell you if you refuse the alarm clock for several days and go to bed at about the same time.

With chronic sleep deprivation, on the first day, you will sleep much longer than usual, and then begin to get up on your own at a certain period. This is your individual amount of sleep necessary for a good rest. How much sleep do you need every day to avoid sleep deprivation?

Unfortunately, sleep problems in older people are not uncommon, but rather a common occurrence, which gave rise to the myth that they need to sleep less. And more often old people suffer from lack of sleep than from its excess.

There are many reasons for senile insomnia, but more often than others, chronic diseases (which increase with age) and irreversible hormonal changes prevent you from sleeping peacefully.

When you really want to sleep

Sometimes really old people start to sleep longer than usual. This manifests itself as a late awakening or a long (more than an hour) regular daytime sleep. If this happens from time to time, then the reason is most likely in banal overwork. But when prolonged sleep becomes a constant occurrence, then you should be alarmed. There can be both physiological and pathological reasons for this:

The cause of intermittent drowsiness can also be a strong meteorological dependence. You have noticed that in rainy cloudy weather you often want to sleep and are too lazy to move actively even at a young age. And old people react even more strongly to such weather changes and sometimes they can doze off for half a day, sitting in their favorite chair.

Older people sleep longer in winter too. There is a lack of sunlight, which causes vitamin D deficiency, as well as cold, which constricts blood vessels and impairs cerebral circulation.

The periodic lengthening of sleep caused by such reasons is not dangerous and, if desired, it can be eliminated by fairly simple preventive methods.

Symptoms of hypersomnia

If a person of any age (not only the elderly) sleeps more than 14 hours a day, we can talk about a serious disease - hypersomnia. Depending on the form and causes that caused the development of the disease, the symptoms of hypersomnia can be different:

Unfortunately, many people do not pay due attention to hypersomnia, believing that extra hours of sleep can only be beneficial. So it is, but not when the symptoms listed above are present all the time.

Usually, hypersomnia is a sign of other mental or serious diseases: encephalitis, oncology, microstroke, etc.

Therefore, if an elderly person has at least two of the symptoms listed above, it is necessary to consult a neurologist as soon as possible. If necessary, he will diagnostic examination and prescribe a course of treatment.

Why is it dangerous to sleep for a long time?

Constant long sleep will not do any good. As we have already found out, this is an abnormal state of the body, which has its own reasons and signals that a failure has occurred in one of the systems. If you do not take any measures to normalize sleep, then over time, the negative consequences of oversleeping appear:

These symptoms significantly reduce the quality of life. And worst of all, they limit physical activity, which in old age is simply necessary to keep the body in good shape. That is why it is so important to recognize sleep disorders in time and be sure to eliminate them.

Death is close?

Often the relatives of the elderly become very worried if they see that their loved ones sleep too long. They consider it a symptom of impending death. That also happens sometimes.

But if an elderly person feels well, is healthy, active during the day, then even if there are several chronic diseases in most cases, nothing threatens him in the near future.

An alarming sign of too long sleep can be if it is accompanied by:

almost complete refusal of food;
frequent fainting or blackouts;
incoherent speech, severe articulation disorders;
constant signs of oxygen starvation;
shortness of breath and / or wheezing;
cooling and severe numbness of the extremities;
manifestations of cyanotic subcutaneous spots on the body;
complete lack of interest in the environment.

In this case, indeed, we can talk about the slow extinction of life and the gradual shutdown various bodies and systems. If you understand that nothing can change, then you should not once again disturb and wake the person.

In near-death states, lethargy and drowsiness are a natural defensive reaction of the body, helping a person to painlessly and without unnecessary anxiety complete the process of transition to another world. It’s better to just be around, talk, hold hands. In such states, deep sleep does not occur, but only a saving slumber, through which a person perceives what is happening anyway.

Prevention measures

Alas, no cure has yet been invented for old age and death, and who knows if they will ever come up with one. We are not yet able to fight this natural process, but it is quite possible to extend the period of a full-fledged active life and prevent excessive drowsiness even in old age with a strong desire and certain efforts.

But it is necessary to take such preventive measures not when the body is already weakened and the body is difficult to get out of bed, but much earlier, ideally - even in young years. The effect will be even if you take care of yourself only at an advanced age, but you will not be able to catch up with those who began to train the body and blood vessels at least after forty.

Postponing old age is easy. And three main whales will help in this: physical activity, balanced nutrition and positive emotions.

And now a little more about what needs to be done so as not to become like a groundhog in hibernation in old age:

Old age is not a sentence. This is the period when you can devote yourself to what you had sorely lacked time for before.

Sleep disorders in the elderly significantly reduce their quality of life. This problem has not been given due attention for a long time, however, it is in the population over 65 years of age that the most popular drugs are sleeping pills.

Statistics show: 35% of the elderly experience problems associated with inadequate sleep. At the same time, in women (50%), sleep is disturbed more often than in men (25%).

In this article: the causes of sleep disturbances in the elderly, how they manifest themselves, what drugs provoke insomnia, and preventive measures.

With age, the one-time nature of sleep, due to the social and social way of life of a person (employment, for example), is replaced by a two-time one. Retirement brings a lot of free time, some of which many people enjoy daytime naps.

Thanks to Inge Strauch, Prof. clinical psychology at the University of Zurich, sleep studies were conducted in people aged 65 to 83, it turned out that 60% of them sleep often or daily during the day.

The presence of daytime sleep reduces the duration of the night, but decreases or not total time sleep in the elderly remains unclear, because old people often “nod” during the day and wake up at night, their repetitive sleep is similar to the sleep of babies.

Causes of sleep disorders

In old age, sleep goes wrong for many reasons:

One of the causes of sleep disorders is vascular atherosclerosis: the metabolism and blood supply to the brain structures worsen due to the disruption of the rhythm of wakefulness and sleep - night and day change places.

Even while maintaining the same rhythm, night sleep is invariably bad. The elderly have difficulty falling asleep, they can lie down for a long time, unable to fall asleep, often get up to go to the toilet, wake up very early.

Many old people wake up easily in the morning and feel completely rested, but only a few enjoy sleep.

As a rule, in old age, complaints of poor sleep, palpitations, and heart pain increase.

Primary:Modern medicine divides the causes of sleep disturbance into primary and secondary:

Myoclonus (muscle twitching)

night motor,

sleep apnea (holding your breath during sleep): as a rule, sleep apnea becomes more frequent with age and joins snoring that precedes for an extended period. This dangerous disease is more susceptible to men with an obese physique, but it is also often manifested in elderly women.

Secondary causes are due to mental disorders and diseases:

The most common cardiovascular diseases

Bronchial asthma and other lung diseases,

Endocrine pathologies, including diabetes,

A lot others.

Symptoms of sleep disorders:

Painful insomnia,

tired sleep,

Sleep is interrupted and superficial,

Dreams are many and vivid, but often painful,

early awakenings,

In the morning, a feeling of painful anxiety,

No feeling of rest after sleep.

Older people with sleep disorders often tend to exaggerate their symptoms: it seems to them that they fall asleep longer and spend less time sleeping than they actually do.

Medications that cause insomnia:

Eye drops with b-blockers,

Nose drops with sympathomimetics,

Diuretics (there is a fear of urinary incontinence),

Antidiabetic (polyuria, hypoglycemia, etc.),

Antitussives,

cardiac glycosides in case of overdose,

Antitumor,

Antiparkinsonian (levodopa, selegiline),

Antibiotics (quinolones),

Hormonal (glucocorticoids, thyroid hormones, progesterone),

Bronchodilators (terbutaline, ipratropium bromide, theophylline drugs, salbutamol)

Antiarrhythmic,

Psychotropic (psychostimulants, antidepressants, nootropics),

A lot others.

Scientists have not yet been able to answer the question: the intermittent unsatisfactory sleep of the elderly is a normal element of the aging process or is it the result of a disease and pathological changes in organism.

Prevention of sleep disorders in the elderly

Avoid caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea, cola, chocolate) 3 to 4 hours before bedtime

Overeating, smoking, excessive impressions before sleep contribute to insomnia,

Moderate physical activity in the afternoon,

Warm milk containing a natural amino acid that has a sedative effect can help you sleep, or light dinner before bedtime,

If you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, it is recommended to get up and do something pleasant (read or listen to music). You can only go back to bed and try to sleep again if you feel sleepy. If you failed to fall asleep again, resume the process.

At the same time, it is important for the period of wakefulness to go to another room from the bedroom. This will create a stable association of the bedroom with sleep, but not with tiring insomnia.

Go to bed and get up at the same time in the morning, regardless of the quality of your sleep last night.

Daytime sleep should be minimized (30 minutes) or completely abandoned,

Do not take sleeping pills without consulting a doctor, this will not solve the problem, but it can turn into a severe addiction, similar to a drug.

It is important to determine the cause of insomnia in time in order to eliminate its source.

Illness in old age is an important but not main reason bad sleep.

The old man is deprived of the best of sleeping pills - muscle fatigue. Usually unoccupied, he gets enough sleep during the day, his mood is depressed: there are no more goals in life, interest in it is fading, his destiny is loneliness.

Sleep well and happy are those who, in their declining years, have an occupation to their liking,with which all nature is in harmony.

The article uses materials from the books by A. Wayne "Three Thirds of Life" and A. Borbeli "The Secret of Sleep".

I wish all my readers to find a favorite pastime that will decorate and brighten up the days in old age.

Elena Valve for the Sleepy Cantata project.

Fatigue in the elderly - how to deal with the disease

Today, fatigue for the elderly has become the norm.

Many attribute this to the aging of the body, but doctors say that not only old age is a reason for weakness, but also chronic diseases and wrong lifestyle.

Causes of fatigue

It has long been proven that older people can lead an active lifestyle on an equal footing with the middle-aged generation. But unfortunately, this is not given to all old people.

A decrease in activity in people is observed after 55 years. The body starts to age metabolic processes are violated, and many organs work more slowly.

This is especially true for the heart. This is the only human organ that works without interruption all his life. In the process of life, the heart muscle weakens, therefore, the release of blood in one contraction decreases.

This affects the vasoconstriction, nutrition of the myocardium (heart tissue). This situation gradually provokes the appearance of arrhythmias (violation of the heart rate) and shortness of breath.

The nervous system plays an important role in the coordination and well-being of a person. In the process of life, each person is exposed to stress and nervous tension, so nerve cells (neurons) die.

With age, they become less, and a decrease in their number directly affects the process of blood circulation in the brain.

With frequent stress, the conduction of nerve impulses is disrupted, memory suffers from this, and the condition of the musculoskeletal system worsens. Against this background, a person experiences frequent headaches, the reaction rate slows down.

Consultation with a doctor - to find out the causes of fatigue in old age

A person's well-being also depends on the amount of essential vitamins, micro and macro elements in his body.

If there is a deficiency of the necessary substances, then a person develops weakness, fatigue and drowsiness. Lack of vitamins in old age occurs due to atrophy of the gastric mucosa.

Because of this, many foods are not digested, so a person is forced to limit his diet, thereby depriving the body of many vitamins.

Rapid fatigue when walking occurs due to wear and tear of cartilage in the joints.

Many people in old age notice the influence of weather or magnetic storms on the sun. Change of weather conditions is manifested in pain in the head, aching joints and weakness.

Insomnia can also cause fatigue and drowsiness. In old age, the daily cycle shifts.

Other causes of weakness and fatigue:

Anemia.
Osteochondrosis.
Arthrosis.
Spondylosis.
Angina.
Oncological diseases.
Cardiovascular diseases.

Symptoms of fatigue:

Regular headache.
Weakness.
Sleep disorder.
Emotional depression.

How to treat fatigue

Nutrition

To eliminate fatigue in women and men, you need to eat right.

Older people should always have breakfast, since it is from the morning meal that the body takes most of the energy.

Raspberries - to maintain the activity of the body

The main priority of energy is the consumption of plain water in large quantities. When dehydrated, the plasma becomes thicker, so it delivers oxygen to tissues and cells more slowly.

Most of the diet should be foods containing Omega - 3 and fiber:

Linseed oil.
Avocado.
Strawberry.
Peanut butter.
Walnuts.
Oat germ.
Soybean oil.
Raspberries.
Cauliflower.
Spinach.
Leek.
Soya beans.
Beans.
Flax seeds.
Salmon.
Herring.
Mackerel.
Olive oil.
Broccoli.
Pumpkin seeds.
Sesame.
Halibut.
Cod.
Brussels sprouts.
Potatoes.
Carrot.
Tomatoes.
Beet.
Dried fruits.
Unpeeled rice.
Lentils.
Parsley.
Apples.
oranges.
Peaches.
String beans.
Wholemeal flour.
Radish.
Peanut.
Kiwi.

Physical exercise

To eliminate rapid muscle fatigue, you need to exercise regularly. exercise helping to strengthen the musculoskeletal system and tone the muscular system.

Physical exercise:

Walking in place.
Raising the arms to the sides.
Steps to the side.
Walking on toes and heels.
Push-ups (for men).
Squats.

Remember that physical activity is contraindicated for people with health problems. Therefore, before classes, it is better to consult a doctor.

Hiking in the fresh air enriches the blood with oxygen, helps to relax, and normalizes the neuropsychological background.

Medicines and vitamins

If a person experiences rapid physical fatigue, then most likely he has anemia (a decrease in the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood). In this case, the person is assigned "Sorbifer Durules".

The drug is taken 2 times a day, 1 tablet. If overwork is caused, then the doctor prescribes sedatives like Persen or Novo Passit.

Vitrum Centuri - for the treatment of fatigue

If fatigue is caused by angina pectoris or ischemic disease heart, it is recommended to drink a course of "Thiotriazoline" or "Mildronate".

"Alphabet 50+".
Vitrum Centuri.
Solgar.
Doppelgerz Active.

What vitamins should be taken by the elderly:

Retinol (activates tissue respiration).
Tocopherol (energizes).
Thiamine (reduces fatigue).
Vitamin D (strengthens the skeletal system).
Ascorbic acid (reduces cholesterol).

Healthy lifestyle

In old age, you need to move more. Movement helps to increase the production of hormones, the deficiency of which is formed after 50 years.

Moderate exercise helps replenish bone loss.

Basics of a healthy lifestyle:

To give up smoking.
Balanced diet.
Complete sleep.
Refusal of alcoholic beverages.
Physical activity.
Positive psychological background.

It is important to stick with sufficient rest.

Conclusion

When the first complaints of fatigue appear, you should consult a therapist.

It is worth remembering that fatigue is not a disease, but a symptom. Therefore, you will need to undergo a series of analyzes and studies: biochemical analysis blood, immunogram and electrocardiogram.

If age-related changes are the cause, the doctor will recommend adherence to an expensive lifestyle and proper nutrition.

If fatigue is caused by an illness, then the therapist will prescribe the appropriate treatment, during which this pathological condition will decrease.

Video: Chronic fatigue, how to deal with it

What does it mean if an elderly person sleeps a lot, it is unambiguously difficult to answer. On the one hand, there's nothing wrong with grandma or grandpa taking a daytime nap. However, excessive sleepiness that does not bring the desired relief indicates serious health problems. Therefore, it is so important to identify violations in a timely manner and eliminate them.

Physiologists have found that the duration of night sleep in elderly people should normally be from seven to nine hours. If an elderly person began to sleep for a long time and spends more than ten hours at rest, then this signals the beginning of pathological changes in the body.

Aging itself is not a disease. This is a natural physiological process, accompanied by hormonal fluctuations that affect the quality of a night's rest.

In order for older people to be able to sleep normally, they need to create the proper conditions:

ventilate the room;
monitor the cleanliness of bed linen;
maintain humidity and temperature within normal limits.

Why do older people sleep a lot?

Long daytime sleep (more than one hour) and late morning awakening, observed in the elderly periodically, are most likely provoked by overwork. If this phenomenon occurs constantly, then you should worry.

The following causes of drowsiness and lethargy in the elderly during the daytime are distinguished:

chronic fatigue;
abuse of sleeping pills and sedatives or alcoholic beverages;
susceptibility to stress;
declining performance blood pressure;
depression and psycho-emotional overstrain;
circulatory disorders in the brain, provoking oxygen starvation;
hormonal fluctuations;
the presence of tumors and hematomas affecting the areas of the brain responsible for the state of rest;
taking certain medications on a regular basis.

Meteorological dependence is also capable of provoking drowsiness. The desire to sleep at the same time appears in rainy weather.

Signs of hypersomnia

Hypersomnia is not limited to old people. This disease often develops at an earlier age. Depending on the form of the pathology and the reasons that led to its occurrence, the disease can manifest itself as follows:

night sleep is more than ten hours;
during the day there is increased drowsiness;
after waking up for a long time it is not possible to turn on the operating mode;
muscle tone in the morning is significantly reduced;
appearance of hallucinations.

A person dozing in the daytime often does not even suspect the development of hypersomnia, believing that as much as the body needs to rest, so much time is allotted for sleep. In fact, such symptoms, which appear systematically, signal serious health problems.

The danger of long sleep

With hypersomnia, serious complications arise. Sleep problems can cause the following problems:

migraine;
circulatory disorders and activity thyroid gland;
decreased muscle tone and frequent manifestations of sleep paralysis;
inability to concentrate;
memory problems;
loss of strength and fatigue;
slow reaction.

Due to such changes in the body, the quality of life is significantly reduced. Becomes limited physical activity.

Signs of approaching death

Sometimes a dying person begins to spend a longer period at rest. Naturally, such changes cause concern among people close to him. However, the fact that the old man needs more time to sleep does not yet indicate his imminent departure to another world. If he feels well, does not get sick and is active, then there is no reason for concern.

Concern is caused by those cases when increased drowsiness is accompanied by the following symptoms:

almost complete loss of appetite;
periodic fainting and loss of consciousness;
problems with articulation;
symptoms of oxygen starvation;
feet and hands become cold, their numbness is noted;
bluish spots appear under the skin;
interest in everything that happens around disappears.

These symptoms may indicate the approach of death. At the same time, drowsiness is considered a natural reaction that contributes to a painless departure to another world.

An increase in sleep duration in old age is often observed. Not always such changes indicate pathology. Quite often they are a variant of the norm. Concerns are caused by the accompanying increased drowsiness symptoms.

Most people assume that as a person gets older, they need more and more time to sleep, so an older person sleeps a lot. It is logical that in this case, growing up is identified with aging. In parallel, there is an opinion that old people need less time to restore their strength than adults who lead an active life. In view of this, there is a theory that it is enough for pensioners to sleep 6-7 hours.

Reasons for increased need for sleep

If you draw a graph of sleep duration at different ages, then it will appear in the form of a parabola with highest values in the first and last days of life. It has been noted that when an old man sleeps all the time, which means that internal resources have been developed and the allotted life span is coming to an end. But to believe that all people in old age experience a great need for sleep is wrong.

Each person is individual and with the general physiological patterns there are individual characteristics. This applies to the duration of sleep in older people. This is determined by two factors:

established daily routine;
the presence of diseases.

The pensioner saves the sleep schedule that has developed during the work activity. Although most people note that after retirement, on the contrary, they began to sleep better, because. problems associated with professional duties have disappeared. However, people wake up without an alarm at the same time as before. It takes a year or two for the body to get used to the new routine. But for some, until the end of their lives, a clear daily routine and activity developed throughout their lives remain. By the way, such people feel better and get sick less.

The statement that old people sleep a lot is not fully true. Old people sleep as much as their body needs. Sleep is the time that is let go human body nature to restore and recharge with vitality. A sleeping person is like a battery connected for recharging. The longer the life of the battery, the longer it takes to charge, and at the same time it still has less energy in it. Therefore, on average, about nine hours of total daily sleep in order for the aging organism to continue its vital activity.

Diseases that occur with age also do not contribute to the normal recovery of the body during sleep, since they affect both the duration and quality of night rest. Age-related ailments are characterized by night pains, so older people sleep a lot during the daytime, when they feel better.

Normal sleep duration in the elderly

Physiologists have found that an elderly person should normally sleep 7-9 hours. It is believed that old people sleep a lot if their sleep lasts 10 hours or more. This indicates the development of pathological processes in the body. Old age in itself is not a pathology, it is physiology, i.e. norm. Hormonal changes are also physiological, which also affect the quality of sleep.

Getting enough sleep in old age allows you to:

sleeping mode;
sleep hygiene;
if necessary, the use of medications.

For the elderly, the same rules for healthy sleep apply as for workers:

ventilated room;
clean bed linen;
humidity and temperature.

Doctors say that old people are constantly cold, so they need a bed and pajamas warmer, soft warm socks. A warm bath before bedtime or at least a hot foot bath is helpful.

Speaking of sleep hygiene, one should not lose sight of personal hygiene products - urological pads for women. With a change in the hormonal background, urine leakage at night can be observed, which significantly reduces the comfort of sleep and is the cause of psychological discomfort.

In men, the hormonal scourge of age is changes in the prostate gland. In the early stages of the disease, an enlarged prostate causes a person to get up several times a night to urinate, and in advanced cases leads to urinary incontinence. In these cases, special diapers for the elderly can improve the quality of sleep.

Affects the duration and quality of sleep, compliance with the doctor's prescriptions for taking medications if any disease is diagnosed (and more often several). Timely intake of medications ensures a restful sleep. If you experience night pain, you should definitely consult a doctor for the correction of drug treatment.

Daytime sleep is required. It is best to take a nap in the afternoon for 30-40 minutes. Long daytime sleep can cause biorhythms to fail, which will affect health: a headache, a feeling of lethargy appears. If an elderly person constantly sleeps, this is already a sign of serious pathologies.

The main symptoms of hypersomnia

When an elderly person sleeps constantly, the causes must be found in as soon as possible: often a symptom serious illnesses, the timely detection of which will help, if not cure, then at least alleviate the condition of an elderly patient.

Hypersomnia is excessive (more than 14 hours) sleep duration. Elderly people can alternate attacks of insomnia (insomnia) and hypersomnia, when, due to poor health or for psychological reasons, grandma or grandfather first sleep in fits and starts, and then, when the pain goes away or the cause of negative emotions disappears, they just sleep off. This is situational hypersomnia, which does not cause cause for concern (except for the root cause, of course, which must be dealt with). If an old person just sleeps a lot, this is not normal.

Signs of hypersomnia are:

constant sleepiness;
feeling tired after a long sleep;
lack of a sleep schedule as such.

These symptoms may indicate the onset serious illness(microstroke, encephalitis, etc.), so it is dangerous to miss such moments.

If an elderly person sleeps too long, it is necessary to establish why this is happening. Violation of the schedule can be caused by both pathological and physiological factors, among which it should be noted:

overwork (fatigue has a cumulative effect, it can accumulate);
alcoholism and drug addiction;
depression, stress, unfavorable, from the point of view of psychology, the situation in the house;
suffered a stroke;
high or low blood pressure;
disruption of the endocrine system;
brain tumors.

It should be taken into account that in winter people sleep longer due to shorter daylight hours. Bedridden patients spend much more time in a nap than healthy ones. Affect the duration of rest and some drugs.

A feature of the elderly is the dependence of well-being on the weather: a decrease in atmospheric pressure causes an irresistible desire to sleep at any time of the day.

Pathologically long sleep leads to:

the development of migraine attacks;
hyperglycemia against the background of hormonal disorders;
persistent muscle weakness;
decrease in intellectual abilities, memory impairment, absent-mindedness;
overweight due to metabolic disorders;
constant fatigue and a feeling of weakness.

Even the performance that is possible for a given age is reduced. The bad thing is that all these symptoms significantly impair motor activity, which is useful for maintaining tone at any age.

Prolonged sleep as a harbinger of death

Popular belief says that people sleep a lot before they die. The reasons for a long sleep can be very different, but there are alarming signs by which you can determine that a person will soon die.

Loss of appetite. A person first loses interest in food, even in the most favorite dishes, while eating much less than usual. Complete loss of appetite and refusal to eat may indicate the approach of death.
Increased sleepiness. Sleep lasts at least 12 hours, it is very difficult to wake a person. The duration of sleep increases every day, dizziness appears after waking up.
Disorientation and confusion. An elderly person in between sleep cannot understand where he is, how old he is. He ceases to recognize relatives, cannot remember their names, can rave in a dream and in reality.
Respiratory problems. Breathing becomes difficult, irregular, accompanied by wheezing. Cheyne-Stokes syndrome may occur.
Violation of urination. There is involuntary urination, often accompanied by uncontrolled defecation.
puffiness lower extremities. Due to impaired blood circulation and lymph flow, the legs and feet swell, sometimes very significantly (it is impossible not only to put on room shoes, but also to put on stockings and socks).
Hypothermia. With impaired blood circulation, the body temperature decreases, this is especially noticeable in the fingers and toes: they become icy to the touch.
Venous spots. The fragility of blood vessels leads to the appearance of characteristic bluish spots under the skin, similar to hematomas. They appear especially frequently in diabetes, since any, even a slight mechanical effect, leads to damage to the vessel and subcutaneous hemorrhage.
Uncontrolled emotions. Old people become capricious, sometimes their behavior is simply unbearable. At the same time, fits of anger alternate with violent apologies. Unreasonable tears, resentment, suspicion can infuriate others, so you need to be patient. The worst should be expected when old people become completely indifferent, do not react to any stimuli.

Physician evaluation of patients with prolonged sleep

Medicine is powerless to restore youth, so old age must be taken for granted. At the same time, it depends on the person himself how he will age. The correct daily routine, a healthy lifestyle make it possible to maintain a clear mind and be active even in old age.

If hypersomnia is a symptom of the disease, all efforts should be directed to treatment. If this is the approach of the end, you need to make it easy.

The cause of excessive sleepiness can be determined by the results of the examination, clinical analyzes and based on the stories of the patients themselves and their relatives.

The main help is to provide the elderly with a decent old age. When it comes to imminent death, you need to overcome the feeling of powerlessness and not disturb the elderly once again when they are sleeping. So that even in a dream they feel the care and love of their relatives, it is better to hold their hand in your hands, speak kind, gentle words quietly, even hum a lullaby quietly. A person should leave with the knowledge that he has lived a worthy life and that he is surrounded by loving and caring people.

In old age, as in any other, sleep is necessary. It must take age into account. If excessive drowsiness is noted, you should consult a doctor.