Good night's rest called 'vital sign' for those over age 50

After looking at a new national survey of older Americans about their sleep habits, some specialists on aging are suggesting sleep be added to the list of "vital signs" doctors and nurses evaluate in physical exams.

Not getting enough sleep leaves people more susceptible to obesity, diabetes, cancer and stress that can both weaken the immune system and affect mental function.

At the same time, poor sleep habits can signal illnesses ranging from breathing disorders and heartburn to depression and dementia.

Yet the national survey by the Gallup Organization for The International Longevity Center found that more than half of adults aged 50 and older are sleeping fewer than seven hours each night, and fewer than a third said they were getting a good night's sleep all seven days a week.

Experts on aging and sleep problems attending the scientific conference in New York City, where the survey was released Thursday, said both older people and physicians often wrongly dismiss sleep problems and getting less sleep as a "natural" byproduct of aging, when, in fact, elders should be able to sleep well every night and need the same 7 to 9 hours a night they did when they were younger.

But the survey found that a third of the older adults said they felt they needed more sleep than they were getting, and 45 percent felt they need more sleep now than when they were younger. Only 24 percent of the 1,003 respondents said getting more than nine hours of sleep a night was a sign of laziness.

"The importance of sleep to healthy aging is often overlooked in the medical community, but it's becoming increasingly apparent that good sleep could be a new vital sign," said Dr. Robert Butler, president of the ILC, a nonprofit research and education center that studies the impacts of aging on society.

Although one in four of the adults in the survey felt they had a sleep problem and 72 percent of that group said they've spoken to a healthcare provider about their sleep problems, fewer than half said they were getting treatment through a physician.

"I'm afraid a lot of physicians don't want to hear about sleep problems in their older patients because they don't know what to do about them," said Dr. Phyllis Zee, director of the Sleep Disorders Program at Northwestern University in Chicago. "They're worried about safety and addiction issues if they prescribe sleep medications, and particularly are concerned about patients suffering falls during the night."