One
Old people are at a higher risk of experiencing late-life mood and anxiety as a result of the health complications and lifestyle issues that come with aging. An increase in physical health problems such as the Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and heart diseases among others are more likely to take a toll on the affected person. For adults who experience these health complications, anxiety may kick in very quickly. The side effects of the medication that older people receive is also a very big risk factor that contributes to the late-life mood and anxiety disorders. Moreover, sleep disturbances, social isolation, and some forms of impairments may also cause these conditions because they reduce the functionality by limiting a person’s ability to perform normal physical tasks ( Teri, McKenzie & Coulter, 2016 ).
Different approaches can be used to treat late-life mood and anxiety depending on the stage of the conditions. In many cases, affected adults are normally prescribed for a specific type of antidepressants, which will improve functionality by preventing anxiety neurosis and certain types of mood disorders from progressing to critical stages. In addition to this, psychotherapy treatments are also used for older adults with these conditions because they improve the efficiency of the treatment program and reduce chances of recurring episodes of mood and anxiety disorders.
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Two
Aging is associated with several well-described changes in patterns of sleep. Typically, there is a phase advance in the normal circadian sleep cycle: older people tend to go to sleep earlier in the evening but also to wake earlier. They may also wake more frequently during the night and experience fragmented sleep. The prevalence of many sleep disorders increases with age. Insomnia, whether primary or secondary to coexistant illness or medication use, is very common among elderly people. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder and narcolepsy, although less common, are frequently not considered for this population. Periodic leg-movement disorder, a frequent cause of interrupted sleep, can be easily diagnosed with electromyography during nocturnal polysomnography. Restless legs syndrome, however, is diagnosed clinically. Snoring is a common sleep-related respiratory disorder; so is obstructive sleep apnea, which is increasingly seen among older people and is significantly associated with cardio-and cerebrovascular disease as well as cognitive impairment.
Sleep is a very important physiological process because it contributes to the restorative functions of the body. The older population is more likely to develop certain types of sleep disorders as a result of some changes in social patterns and age. For instance, changes in cognitive, physiological, and medical conditions normally influence the development of these conditions. Insomnia refers to a condition where a person has problems falling asleep, maintaining sleep or premature awakenings in the early hours of the morning. This disorder normally affects a majority of the older population, particularly people above the age of sixty-five. Frequent awakenings are very common for people in this age category and as such, McCrae, Petrov, Dautovich & Lichstein, (2016) note that these may be associated with the simultaneous use and incidences of medical conditions. In Chapter 22, the consequences of insomnia are listed as mood disturbances, difficulty concentrating, and fatigue among other effects.
Advanced Sleep phase disorder affects older people in such a way that they tend to fall asleep early in the night and wake up early in the morning, before the normal time frames. In most cases, these people normally report sleepiness in the evening hours and as such, they have problems participating in any activities from that time. Older individuals with this condition are vulnerable to EDS. Some forms of advanced sleep disorders are hereditary and as such, they may affect a family generation.
Sleep-disordered breathing is a very common condition among the elderly people even though it is not recognized by many medical practitioners. Its prevalence normally increases with age and as such, it can be associated with deteriorating cognitive, cardio-cerebrovascular and functional functionalities. The chapters provide the symptomology, etiology and treatment methods of the disease. Readers are informed of the disease as the authors explore its impact on the older population.
Three
Excessive anxiety is normally associated with different forms of distress that will affect a person’s daily activities. To older people, this can lead to a number of health complications with a decreased functionality. Studies by the authors have indicated that old people are more susceptible to this condition and the health effects get worse as the individuals get older. Even though anxiety may not necessarily result in a disorder, it has the ability to affect the functionality of an old person as a result of the phobias that may arise as age progresses. For older individuals, Post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder are very common ( Barry & Byers, 2016 ). The generalized anxiety disorder is very common among adults because it normally develops as age advances. This may come as a result of the complications that may arise from complications that emerge with old people. It has become a very common disorder among the elderly and as such, it is considered as a health hazard that may lead to the progression of other health complications.
Older people normally have problems getting adequate sleep because they have a very hard time falling asleep. More than half of the aging population is affected by this sleep disorder, which normally gets worse as the age increases. They, therefore, tend to fall asleep less deeply and as such, they are likely to wake up more often during the night. This is the main reason why older people nap many times during the day the psychology of death is associated with the development of these complications ( Balk, 2016 ). Late-life sleep affects the sleep architecture, which in turn creates sleep problems. For older people, the sleep cycle is normally disrupted and as such, they will experience lighter stages of sleep without falling into deep sleep cycles. Consequently, this results in an increase in the time it takes to fall asleep with an increase in sleep fragmentation and a decline in REM sleep. This normally results in a variety of health complications for aged people and as such, it ends up affecting the overall health of the affected person.
References
Balk, D. E. (2016). The Psychology of Death and Dying in Later Life. In Handbook of the Psychology of Aging (Eighth Edition) (pp. 475-489).
Barry, L. C., & Byers, A. L. (2016). Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies for Late-Life Mood and Anxiety Disorders. In Handbook of the Psychology of Aging (Eighth Edition) (pp. 409-427).
McCrae, C. S., Petrov, M. E., Dautovich, N., & Lichstein, K. L. (2016). Late-Life Sleep and Sleep Disorders. In Handbook of the Psychology of Aging (Eighth Edition) (pp. 429-445).
Teri, L., McKenzie, G., & Coulter, C. A. (2016). Psychosocial Interventions for Older Adults with Dementia and Their Caregivers. In Handbook of the Psychology of Aging (Eighth Edition) (pp. 447-474).
