{"id":3757,"date":"2025-04-23T06:21:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T06:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=3757"},"modified":"2025-04-23T06:21:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T06:21:22","slug":"new-study-links-insomnia-and-sleep-medication-use-to-increased-disability-risk-in-older-adults","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=3757","title":{"rendered":"New Study Links Insomnia and Sleep Medication Use to Increased Disability Risk in Older Adults"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A recent study published in the journal&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1093\/sleep\/zsaf098\"><em>Sleep<\/em>&nbsp;<\/a>reveals that older adults experiencing insomnia symptoms or using sleep medications face a higher risk of disability. Conducted by researchers from Penn State and Taipei Medical University, the study analyzed data from 6,722 U.S. adults over 65 and found that both insomnia and sleep medication use were independently associated with worsening disability over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For every incremental increase in insomnia symptoms (e.g., from &#8220;some nights&#8221; to &#8220;most nights&#8221;), the risk of disability rose by 20% the following year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Similarly, increased sleep medication use correlated with a 19% higher disability risk per usage level.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Older adults who both experienced insomnia and used sleep medications faced the highest disability risk, particularly in self-care and mobility tasks like dressing, eating, and moving indoors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The study used data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), tracking participants from 2011 to 2015. Disability was measured using a validated scale, with higher scores indicating greater reliance on assistance for daily activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Orfeu Buxton, a co-author, emphasized that insomnia and sleep medications may accelerate disability progression. Lead author Dr. Tuo-Yu Chen noted that prolonged sleep issues or medication use could lead to clinically significant disability. The team also highlighted that sleep medications might increase fall risks, further contributing to disability<br>The researchers urge older adults to discuss sleep problems with physicians, as alternatives like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can safely address insomnia without the risks of medication. &#8220;Insomnia isn\u2019t an inevitable part of aging,&#8221; said co-author Dr. Soomi Lee. &#8220;Proper treatment can significantly improve quality of life.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With up to 50% of older adults experiencing insomnia symptoms, the study underscores the need for proactive management to mitigate disability risks and enhance independence in later life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent study published in the journal&nbsp;Sleep&nbsp;reveals that older adults experiencing insomnia symptoms or using sleep medications face a higher risk of disability. Conducted by researchers from Penn State and Taipei Medical University, the study analyzed data from 6,722 U.S. adults over 65 and found that both insomnia and sleep medication use were independently associated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1565],"tags":[1566,1567],"class_list":["post-3757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-medicine","tag-health-medicine","tag-insomnia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3758,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757\/revisions\/3758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}