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The Effective Assessment and Management of Sleep Disturbances in Community-Dwelling and Institutionalized Older Adults

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Introduction to Modern Sleep Technology

Part of the book series: Intelligent Systems, Control and Automation: Science and Engineering ((ISCA,volume 64))

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Abstract

Older adults represent a rapidly growing proportion of the population of industrialized nations, with a corresponding increase in the number of patients with significant sleep disturbances that adversely impact both health and quality of life. There is increasing focus on the importance of sleep’s interactions with health in the context of aging and over the last decade there have been significant and rapid advances in our ability to diagnose and treat sleep disorders in older adults. Thorough assessment of sleep problems is often iterative, time consuming, and may require serial evaluations and information from multiple sources. Accurate assessment and effective management of disturbed sleep in older adults, while often complex, is ultimately rewarding. This chapter provides an overview of the effective assessment and management of sleep disorders in older adults, both in community and long-term care settings.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Vitiello is supported by Public Health Service grants: AG025515, AG031126, AG030484, CA116400, HP08846, MH072736 and NR011400.

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Correspondence to Michael V. Vitiello Ph.D. .

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Vitiello, M.V. (2012). The Effective Assessment and Management of Sleep Disturbances in Community-Dwelling and Institutionalized Older Adults. In: Chiang, RY., Kang, SC. (eds) Introduction to Modern Sleep Technology. Intelligent Systems, Control and Automation: Science and Engineering, vol 64. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5470-6_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5470-6_13

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