Bedtime Routines: Do They Influence the Sleep of Elderly Women?

A total of 45 institutionalized and 42 noninstitutionalized women over 65 years of age participated in a study to identify and describe their bedtime routines and nocturnal sleep patterns. Differences and relationships between these routines and patterns according to whether or not the subject was institutionalized were also investigated. Findings suggest that all of the subjects perceived disturbances in their sleep patterns. The majority of subjects also followed a bedtime routine. Women in nursing homes reported the most disturbed sleep patterns regardless of whether or not they followed a bedtime routine. Women who resided in their own homes reported the least disturbed sleep patterns and the most consistent bedtime routines. Findings also suggest that bedtime routines need not be elaborate to provide comfort and promote sleep.