Page 184 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

168 • Chapter 6

Insomnia is trouble falling or staying asleep and is con-
sidered chronic when the symptoms last for more than three
weeks. After even one night of interrupted sleep, people
complain of irritability, shorter attention span, memory
gaps, and impaired judgment. Insomnia can exacerbate
these symptoms. More than 50 percent of chronic insomnia
cases can be attributed to emotional stress such as depres-
sion or anxiety. Typically, depression causes you to awaken
early, whereas anxiety may prevent you from going to sleep.
Pain, restlessness, or other symptoms of illnesses also can
disrupt your sleeping patterns.
Moreover, once your sleep is disrupted, learned insom-
nia can keep you awake until the pattern is broken. My
mother experienced learned insomnia after she moved to
the country. The barking of her dog at foraging nocturnal
animals would awaken her. She then would get out of bed
to check on the dog, and since she was awake, she would
treat herself to something sweet to eat. Before too long, she
was waking up at about that hour of the night regardless of
whether the dog was barking. Her body had “learned” to
wake up at an inappropriate time. Irregular sleep patterns,
such as staying up late and sleeping in on the weekends,
also can disrupt your sleep patterns. In addition, some med-
ications can work on the central nervous system and pre-
vent restful sleep from occurring.
Interestingly, more than 50 percent of those people 65
years old and older experience regular disruptions of sleep
cycles. Many elders do not produce sufficient quantities of
melatonin or do not have sufficient melatonin receptors in
6
the brain. This inhibits the ability to initiate and maintain
sleep during the night. Melatonin is produced by the pineal
gland in the brain in rhythmical cycles, with high produc-
tion levels at night and minute quantities produced during
the day. See Figure 6-3.
Many seniors whose brains have ceased manufacturing
adequate levels of melatonin can benefit from doses of mela-
tonin approximately two hours before bedtime. Alzheimer’s
patients, who also have reduced levels of melatonin, bene-