ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Sleep disturbances are ubiquitous in geriatric patients with dementias and can cause hypersomnia, irritability, impaired motor and cognitive skills, psychiatric conditions such as depression, and fatigue (1). Sleep disturbances in patients with dementia may be related to both direct and indirect mechanisms (1,2). Direct mechanisms may be related to specific lesions in neuroanatomic regions involved in sleep physiology and neurochemistry. Structural alteration of the sleep-wake-generating neurons located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is one example of the direct mechanism, whereas insufficient light exposure or excessive noise at the patient’s living quarter are examples of the indirect (external) mechanisms disturbing sleep. A summary of the predictable sleep-related changes in dementia is demonstrated in Figures 1 and 2.
