Broken up sleep in elderly can lead to nursing home placement

This article discusses research showing that women with fragmented sleep were 3 times more likely to end up in nursing homes when followed over five years. This is what we see in clinical practice as well. Often patients who are older and with dementia, begin to sleep in the day and stay up all night. Caregivers are unable to reverse this sleep timing, and they are left with no choice but to place their loved one in a nursing home.