Causes of sleepiness in the elderly
1, environmental factors
If the life of the elderly is lonely and monotonous, and the environment is lonely, the elderly are often inactive and prone to sleepiness due to physical exhaustion, poor heart function, or osteoarthropathy.
2. Drug factors
Mainly refers to the side effects of sleeping pills, because some sleeping pills act for a long time. In addition, if the elderly have chronic renal failure or hypoalbuminemia, it is easy to have the sequelae of sleeping pills, which are manifested as poor spirit, fatigue and lethargy after getting up the next day.
3. Brain factors
When the elderly feel sleepy, the first thing to consider is whether there are brain lesions. For example, when the elderly have brain inflammation, brain tumors, brain atrophy, cerebral arteriosclerosis, and cerebrovascular diseases, drowsiness may occur.
4. Physical factors
Generally speaking, physical factors are the most common cause of sleepiness in the elderly. The elderly are physically weak, especially suffering from some systemic diseases, such as hypothyroidism or lung infection. The early symptoms are often listlessness and drowsiness.
Diseases that the elderly may suffer from sleepiness.
1, idiopathic narcolepsy
This disease is similar to narcolepsy in clinic, and the similarity is that although the patient seems to have enough sleep at night, he still sleeps excessively during the day. The difference is that it will not cause cataplexy, and the spirit has not improved significantly after sleep.
2. Nervous system diseases
If the elderly suffer from some nervous system diseases, it will also lead to daytime sleepiness.
3, sleep apnea
Elderly patients with excessive daytime sleepiness often have obstructive sleep apnea and symptoms such as snoring, suffocation and apnea. Physical examination will find obesity, neck thickening and upper respiratory tract stenosis.
4. Restless leg syndrome
Restless leg syndrome is characterized by leg discomfort and a strong desire to move your legs at rest. This kind of symptom is lighter during the day and heavier at night, which can be relieved after leg activity. Most elderly patients have leg movements during sleep.
5, narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a disease with abnormal sleep-wake control. Its clinical manifestations include excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis, sleep hallucinations and cataplexy, and some elderly people belong to this category.
Treatment of sleepiness in the elderly
1. Check whether there are any drugs that can help the elderly sleep. If there are drugs, you should stop using them and use sleeping pills instead or reduce them.
2. Family members should pay attention to the situation that the elderly suffer from internal diseases. Once the elderly have drowsiness, they should consult a doctor or go to the hospital for examination in time to avoid delaying treatment.
3. Pay attention to arrange daily life for the elderly and engage in some activities suitable for the characteristics of the elderly to get rid of loneliness and loneliness.
4. Regardless of spring, summer, autumn and winter, middle-aged and elderly people should cover their chests with towels and sheets. Because a cold will definitely damage the yang, and yang deficiency will easily lead to sleepiness. Nap time should not be too long, half an hour to 1 hour is appropriate. It's better to take a nap before meals, even if you only sleep for half an hour, it's better than sleeping for two hours after meals to eliminate fatigue.