Sleep, Medical Issues Intertwine in Older Americans
Washington, Reuters Health, 4/1/03)

When the National Sleep Foundation randomly surveyed 1,506 adults 55 years of age and older, the investigators found that chronic medical conditions (like obesity or cardiac disease) and psychological problems (like depression) were associated with sleep difficulties. According to James Walsh, a scientist at St. Luke's Hospital Sleep Medicine and Research Center in Missouri, when chronic illnesses disrupt sleep, the disturbed sleep can, in turn, exacerbate the medical conditions.