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My Grandmother Falls Asleep Watching TV. Is She Depressed?

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Comorbid Sleep and Psychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Advanced sleep-wake phase disorder (ASWPD) is mainly seen in the elderly population with an estimated prevalence of 1–7%. Aging appears to impact the sleep-wake cycle. The elderly also appears to have reduced light exposure. This condition usually presents with excessive sleepiness in the evenings and insomnia in the early morning hours. Depression as a cause for early morning awakening should be ruled out. Treatment can include prescribed sleep-wake schedules, exercise, melatonin taken in the morning, and bright light exposure in the evening.

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Suggested Reading

  • Auger RR, Burgess HJ, Emens JS, Deriy LV, Thomas SM, Sharkey KM. Clinical practice guideline for the treatment of intrinsic circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders: advanced sleep-wake phase disorder (ASWPD), delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD), non-24-hour sleep-wake rhythm disorder (N24SWD), and irregular sleep-wake rhythm disorder (ISWRD). An update for 2015. J Clin Sleep Med. 2015;11(10):1199–236.

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Correspondence to Bhanu Prakash Kolla .

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Meinen, C., Kolla, B.P., Mansukhani, M.P. (2019). My Grandmother Falls Asleep Watching TV. Is She Depressed?. In: Khawaja, I., Hurwitz, T. (eds) Comorbid Sleep and Psychiatric Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11772-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11772-6_11

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-11772-6

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