Elderly sleep study reveals false expectations
09-10-2009
New research published in the October issue of Sleep has revealed that elderly women have better sleep quality and sleep longer than elderly men, although they largely claim otherwise.
The study, carried out in Rotterdam, involved 956 participants between the ages of 59 and 79, 52.3% of whom were women. Volunteers wore an “actigraph”, a watch-like device, for a period of six nights, during which their sleep patterns were investigated in detail. The sleep data was supplemented by written ‘sleep diaries’ from each of the participants, explaining their opinion on their own sleep quality and duration.
On the whole, men were found to sleep for an average of 6.40 hours and estimate they slept for 7.01 hours, while women believed they slept an average of 6.79 hours and actually slept for 6.65 hours per night. Variables in the study included that women were more likely use sleep medication (14.9% compared to 6.1% of men), and that men consumed twice as much alcohol per day as women (1.0 unit against 0.5 units).
“The differences between subjective and objective sleep quality arise not because women are more likely to be complainers, but because men strongly overestimate their sleep direction,” said Henning Tiemeier MD PhD, principal investigator on the study.
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The study, carried out in Rotterdam, involved 956 participants between the ages of 59 and 79, 52.3% of whom were women. Volunteers wore an “actigraph”, a watch-like device, for a period of six nights, during which their sleep patterns were investigated in detail. The sleep data was supplemented by written ‘sleep diaries’ from each of the participants, explaining their opinion on their own sleep quality and duration.
On the whole, men were found to sleep for an average of 6.40 hours and estimate they slept for 7.01 hours, while women believed they slept an average of 6.79 hours and actually slept for 6.65 hours per night. Variables in the study included that women were more likely use sleep medication (14.9% compared to 6.1% of men), and that men consumed twice as much alcohol per day as women (1.0 unit against 0.5 units).
“The differences between subjective and objective sleep quality arise not because women are more likely to be complainers, but because men strongly overestimate their sleep direction,” said Henning Tiemeier MD PhD, principal investigator on the study.
Each and every Ergo Flex visco elastic memory foam mattress offers pressure-relieving performance and is designed to give you the night’s sleep you’ve always dreamed of. Providing optimum support for your whole body, Ergo Flex mattresses ensure a restful and comfortable sleep, leaving you feeling rejuvenated and energised in the morning. See our memory foam mattresses page for details of our single, double, king size, European king size and super king size mattress versions, or call 0845 450 2338 to find out more.
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