Sleep in the Context of Healthy Aging and Psychiatric Syndromes

Humans spend approximately one-third of their lives asleep. Whether due to evolutionary or ontogenetic factors, sleep and psychiatric disorders change with age. Although much of sleep remains an enigma, sleep research is experiencing an exponential increase in its understanding of the causes, correlates, and consequences of sleep disturbances. Although the relationship between age-related sleep and psychiatric conditions is a common clinical observation, empirical investigations remain scarce. Thus, treating patients with symptoms of sleep disorders in the context of psychiatric conditions remains a challenge. This article reviews the state-of-the-science of sleep disorders in the context of psychiatric conditions in late-life.