The role of wireless technology in addressing sleeping disorders in aged care

Abstract

[Abstract]: Sleep problems are frequently witnessed in aged care facilities with a large proportion going undetected. Multiple factors are known to contribute many abnormal sleep/wake patterns for residents. A systematic review conducted by Haesler (2004) provided a guide to the direction of future research into sleep in older adults residing in care facilities. This chapter evaluates the effectiveness of implementing the following evidence based recommendation from Haesler (2004): Wrist actigraphy currently represents the most accurate objective sleep assessment tool for use in the population of interest. Factor analysis was utilized to study the patterns of relationship among many dependent variables, with the goal of discovering something about the nature of the independent variables that affect them. Wrist actigraphy showed a disparity between the actual bed time and wake time. One clear difference detected using the device was the increased detection of sleep during the day.