It is widely known that falls are common in elderly populations and can cause injury and death. Correcting posture, gait, and pain are certainly good strategies to reduce risk of falling. Exercise can help as well.
Several studies have linked insomnia with increased risk of falls.
One such study correlates the amount of sleep with risk of falling:
Participants in the study who slept less than five hours per night had a 50 percent higher risk of having two or more falls over the course of a year than those who slept more than seven hours.
For those who slept from five to seven hours, the risk was 40 percent higher than for the longest sleepers.
Other studies have shown that balance, judgement, reaction time, and coordination are affected by lack of sleep. These are all factors in avoiding falls.
We hold the view that accidents and injury, including falls, are associated with poor sleep and are obviously a problem in young as well as older populations.
When you are working to improve the balance of your patients, include improving their sleep into the process.
It is a good idea to investigate your patient's quality of sleep.
Quality sleep of eight hours per night, in sync with the circadian biological clock is clearly linked to wellness and reduced risk of injury.
-courtesy of isleep-
