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Sleep disruption in older adults living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is debilitating and contributes to increased institutionalization, reduced cognitive function, and accelerated disease progression. Furthermore, sleep disruption is linked to poor health outcomes in caregivers, such as decreased quality of life and increased caregiver burden. Given the potential harmful side effects of pharmacologic treatment, non-pharmacologic approaches, such as music, may provide a safer alternative to reducing sleep disruption in this vulnerable population. A growing body of literature suggests that calming tailored music may improve sleep quality in older adults with memory loss, but its efficacy has not been demonstrated in older adults with ADRD in the community, where most older adults with ADRD live. If shown to be feasible and acceptable, tailored music interventions can then be tested for efficacy in reducing sleep disruption. This protocol details a wait-list randomized controlled trial [NCT04157244], the purpose of which is to test the feasibility, acceptability and examine the preliminary efficacy of a tailored music listening intervention in older adults with ADRD who report sleep disruption. Music selections will be tailored to the music genre preferences of older adults with ADRD and account for known sleep-inducing properties. Feasibility of processes that are key to the success of the subsequent study will be examined. Preliminary efficacy of the intervention will be assessed using objective (actigraphy) and subjective (proxy reported) sleep quality measures. In addition, qualitative data will be solicited examining the acceptability and satisfaction with the intervention by individuals living with dementia.

According to the "3P model" of insomnia, the variable that mediates the transition from acute insomnia (AI) to chronic insomnia is "sleep extension" (the behavioural tendency to expand sleep opportunity to compensate for sleep loss). In the present analysis, we sought to evaluate how time in bed (TIB) varies relative to the new onset of AI and chronic insomnia. A total of 1,248 subjects were recruited as good sleepers (GS). Subjects were monitored over 1 year with sleep diaries. State transitions were defined, a priori, for AI, recovered from AI (AI-REC), and for chronic insomnia (AI-CI). Two additional groupings were added based on profiles that were unanticipated: subjects that exhibited persistent poor sleep following AI (AI-PPS [those that neither recovered or developed chronic insomnia]) and subjects that recovered from chronic insomnia (CI-REC). All the groups (GS, AI-REC, AI-CI, AI-PPS and CI-REC) were evaluated for TIB differences with longitudinal mixed effects models. Post hoc analyses for the percentage of the groups that were typed as TIB "restrictors, maintainers, and expanders" were conducted using longitudinal mixed effects models and contingency analyses. Significant differences for pre-post AI TIB were not detected for the insomnia groups. Trends were apparent for the AI-CI group, which suggested that minor increases in TIB occurred weeks before the declared onset of AI. Additionally, it was found that a significantly larger percentage of AI-CI subjects engaged in sleep extension (as compared to GS). The present data suggest that transition from AI to chronic insomnia does not appear to be initiated by sleep extension and the transition may occur before the elapse of 3 months of ≥3 nights of sleep continuity disturbance. Given these findings, it may be that the mismatch between sleep ability and sleep opportunity is perpetuated over time given the failure to "naturally" engage in sleep restriction (as opposed to sleep extension).

Objectives: To examine the cross-sectional associations between self-reported postlunch napping and structured cognitive assessments in Chinese older adults. Design: Cross-sectional cohort study. Setting: China. Participants: Individuals aged 65 and older from the baseline national wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) (N = 2,974). Measurements: Interview-based cognitive assessments of orientation and attention, episodic memory, visuospatial abilities, and a combined global cognition score incorporating these assessments. Other self-reported or interview-based assessments included postlunch napping duration, nighttime sleep duration, demographic characteristics, health habits, comorbidities, functional status and social activities. According to reported napping duration, older adults were categorized as non-nappers (0 minutes), short nappers ( < 30 minutes), moderate nappers (30–90 minutes), and extended nappers ( > 90 minutes). Results: Postlunch napping was reporting in 57.7% of participants for a mean of 63 minutes. Cognitive function was significantly associated with napping (P < .001). Between-group comparisons showed that moderate nappers had better overall cognition than nonnappers (P < .001) or extended nappers (P = .01). Nonnappers also had significantly poorer cognition than short nappers (P = .03). In multiple regression analysis, moderate napping was significantly associated with better cognition than non- (P = .004), short (P= .04), and extended napping (P = .002), after controlling for demographic characteristics, body mass index, depression, instrumental activities of daily living, social activities, and nighttime sleep duration. Conclusion: A cross-sectional association was found between moderate postlunch napping and better cognition in Chinese older adults. The cross-sectional design and self-reported measures of sleep limited the findings. Longitudinal studies with objective napping measures are needed to further test this hypothesis.

Melatonin is increasingly used for the treatment of sleep disorders. Surge-sustained formulations consisting of combined immediate release and controlled release dosing may mimic the endogenous melatonin physiologic profile. However, relatively little is known about the pharmacokinetic properties of low dose ( 2 mg) melatonin in a combined immediate release/controlled release dose, especially in older adults who may also exhibit altered melatonin disposition. To assess this, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of low (0.4 mg) and high (4.0 mg) dose melatonin (25% immediate release+75% controlled release) in 27 older adults with insomnia complaints and low endogenous melatonin levels to determine if melatonin pharmacokinetic properties differ between these two doses. The time to maximum level (1.3 hrs vs 1.5 hrs), elimination half-life (1.8 hrs vs 2.1 hrs), and apparent total clearance (379 l/hr vs 478 l/hr) did not differ significantly between the low and high dose arms, respectively. The maximum concentration was 405±93 pg/ml for the low dose arm and 3999±700 pg/ml for the high dose arm, both of which are substantially higher than physiologic melatonin levels for this age group. In addition, subjects in the high dose arm maintained melatonin levels >50 pg/ml for an average of 10 hours, which could result in elevated melatonin levels beyond the typical sleep period. Renal and liver function parameters remained stable after 6 weeks of treatment. The linear pharmacokinetic behavior of melatonin observed in the elderly can form the basis for future studies exploring a wider range of dosing scenarios to establish exposure-response relationships for melatonin-mediated sleep outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effects of physical resistance strength training and walking (E), individualized social activity (SA), and E and SA (ESA) with a usual care control group on total nocturnal sleep time in nursing home and assisted living residents. DESIGN: Pretest�posttest experimental design with assignment to one of four groups for 7 weeks: E (n=55), SA (n=50), ESA (n=41), and usual care control (n=47). SETTING: Ten nursing homes and three assisted living facilities. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred ninety-three residents were randomly assigned; 165 completed the study. INTERVENTION: The E group participated in high-intensity physical resistance strength training 3 days a week and on 2 days walked for up to 45 minutes, the SA group received social activity 1 hour daily 5 days a week, the ESA group received both E and SA, and the control group participated in usual activities provided in the homes. MEASUREMENT: Total nocturnal sleep time was measured using 2 nights of polysomnography before and 2 nights of polysomnography after the intervention. Sleep efficiency (SE), non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, rapid eye movement sleep, and sleep onset latency were also analyzed. RESULTS: Total nocturnal sleep time was significantly greater in the ESA group than in the control group (adjusted means 364.2 minutes vs 328.9 minutes), as was SE and NREM sleep. CONCLUSION: High-intensity physical resistance strength training and walking combined with social activity significantly improved sleep in nursing home and assisted living residents. The interventions by themselves did not have significant effects on sleep in this population.

The use of mindfulness meditation for stress management has grown in recent years. Practising mindfulness meditation has been shown to help manage stress and decrease arousal, both of which are associated with difficulty sleeping; thus, mindfulness-based stress management programmes may have a positive impact on sleep. The effects of an 8-week mindfulness-based stress management programme on pre-sleep cognitive arousal and insomnia symptoms were examined. Sleep was assessed with self-report measures and objectively with actigraphy. Results showed lower levels of pre-sleep arousal and milder subjective insomnia symptoms post-intervention. Longer duration of meditation practice in the final week was associated with greater decreases in cognitive arousal scores. No improvements were found in objectively measured sleep variables. The results of this study suggest that mindfulness-based stress management can lead to improvements in cognitive arousal and self-reports of sleep, even in the absence of objective evidence of sleep improvement. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Older adults have high prevalence rates of insomnia symptoms, yet it is unclear if these insomnia symptoms are associated with objective impairments in sleep. We hypothesized that insomnia complaints in older adults would be associated with objective differences in sleep compared to those without insomnia complaints. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a cross-sectional study in which older adults with insomnia complaints (cases, n=100) were compared to older adults without insomnia complaints (controls, n=100) using dual-night in-lab nocturnal polysomnography, study questionnaires and seven days of at-home actigraphy and sleep diaries. Cases were noted to have reduced objective total sleep time compared to controls (25.8 minutes +/− 8.56, p=0.003). This was largely due to increased wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO), and not increased sleep latency. When participants with sleep-related breathing disorder or periodic limb movement disorder were excluded, the polysomnography total sleep time difference became even larger. Cases also had reduced slow-wave sleep (5.10 +/− 1.38 vs 10.57 +/− 2.29 minutes, effect size −0.29, p=0.04). When comparing self-reported sleep latency and sleep efficiency to objective polysomnographic findings, cases demonstrated low, but statistically significant correlations, while no such correlations were observed in controls. Cases tended to under-estimate their sleep efficiency by 1.6% (+/− 18.4%), while controls over-estimated their sleep efficiency by 12.4% (+/− 14.5%). In conclusion, we noted that older adults with insomnia complaints have significant differences in several objective sleep findings relative to controls, suggesting that insomnia complaints in older adults are associated with objective impairments in sleep.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in older adults is a complex disorder with several unique age-related aspects. Underlying changes in pulmonary lung function and poor sensitivity to bronchoconstriction and hypoxia with advancing age can place older adults at greater risk of mortality or other complications from COPD. The establishment of the Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease criteria, which can be effectively applied to older adults, has more rigorously defined the diagnosis and management of COPD. An important component of this approach is the use of spirometry for disease staging, a procedure that can be performed in most older adults. The management of COPD includes smoking cessation, influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations, and the use of short-and long-acting bronchodilators. Unlike with asthma, corticosteroid inhalers represent a third-line option for COPD. Combination therapy is frequently required. When using various inhaler designs, it is important to note that older adults, especially those with more-severe disease, may have inadequate inspiratory force for some dry-powder inhalers, although many older adults find the dry-powder inhalers easier to use than metered-dose inhalers. Other important treatment options include pulmonary rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, noninvasive positive airway pressure, and depression and osteopenia screening. Clinicians caring for older adults with an acute COPD exacerbation should also guard against prognostic pessimism. Although COPD is associated with significant disability, there is a growing range of treatment options to assist patients.

Recent work in young and middle-aged subjects suggests that melatonin levels in saliva may represent a viable alternative to serum melatonin measurement. We hypothesized that it may be a valid measure of melatonin levels in older adults as well, but features unique to the elderly may limit its utility. To study this, subjects were admitted to an academic medical center where saliva and serum specimens were collected concurrently in dim light conditions during a 14-hr overnight study period and analyzed for melatonin levels with radioimmunoassays (RIAs). Eighty-five subjects over the age of 65 with a broad range of medical conditions participated in the study. Subjects with dementia, depression and anemia were excluded. We found that saliva volume was inadequate for analysis (