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Experiences of Sleep and Benzodiazepine Use among Older Women

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Sleep disturbances are common among older women; however, little is known about sleep experiences among chronic benzodiazepine users. The experience of sleep, sleep troubles, and management of sleep problems were explored through semistructured interviews with 12 women aged 65-92 who had used a benzodiazepine for three months or longer to treat a sleep disturbance. Themes that emerged from an interpretive phenomenological analysis included multiple reasons for sleep disruptions (health problems, mental disturbances, and sleeping arrangements), opposing effects of benzodiazepines on sleep (helps or does not work), and several supplemental sleep strategies (modification of the environment, distraction, and consumption).

Source: Journal of Women & Aging

DOI: 10.1080/08952841.2014.928173

Authors: Sarah L. Canham, Robert L. Rubinstein

Institutions: Simon Fraser University, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Language: English

Topic: Sleep and related disorders

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse