Insomnia in Dementia: A Practical Approach

Abstract

Sleep disorders are frequent with aging and highly prevalent in the context of dementia. Among sleep disorders, insomnia is a disturbing symptom that can emerge associated with other behavioral symptoms of dementia or in isolation. Insomnia implicates high levels of distress and burden for caregivers, both formal and informal. Reviews and recommendations have been published, but many of these practical recommendations are frequently missing. This chapter will provide a brief overview of the literature, but mostly will reflect the experience of our own team in the management of insomnia. Agitation and psychosis are frequently associated with insomnia, and the reader will find comprehensive approaches to agitation and psychosis elsewhere in this book. The biological and neurophysiologic bases of insomnia are outside the scope of this chapter. We will try instead to provide a very practical approach toward insomnia within the context of dementia. The reader will be invited to follow the usual dilemmas which clinicians who take care of persons suffering from dementia are usually faced with when insomnia becomes a clinical issue. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)