Sleep Quality among Older Adults in Mehriz, Yazd Province, Iran

Decrease in sleep quality is an age-related problem which appears in different features such as difficulty in sleeping, over sleeping and unusual behaviors during sleep. Regarding the importance of sleep quality among older adults and also its effects on their quality of life and physical and mental status, the study was conducted to determine the status and quality of sleep in older adults in Mehriz, Yazd Province, Iran. The cross-sectional study used cluster random sample of 126 older adults. Data collection tool was a two-part questionnaire including demographic and sleep-related questions and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Data were analyzed with SPSS software usingone-way ANOVA and chi-square tests. The most reported sleep quality related problems were pain (32.8%), waking up for toilet (28.6%) and nightmare (3.2%); waking up problem for driving was the least reported problem (0.8%). Sleep quality was worse among women than men (p=0.02). There was a statistically significant relation between sleep quality score and morbidity to thedisease of cardiovascular, diabetes, osteoporosis, breathing problems, visual and hearing problems, obesity and depression (p<0.05). Regarding the significant relation of sleep quality and some chronic conditions, the importance of educatingthe older adults who suffer from chronic conditions and also their families in this area is displayed. As with planning suitable interventions, we may not only increase the sleep quality among older adults but also treat or reduce the risk of chronic conditions among them.