BALTIMORE, June 16 (UPI) -- Elderly women whose husbands die are more likely to have disrupted sleep when studied at least four months afterward, U.S. researchers said.
Timothy H. Monk of the University of Pittsburgh studied sleep patterns and circadian rhythms of 28 spousally bereaved seniors age 60 and older. Measures taken included two nights of polysomnography, 36 hours of continuous core body temperature monitoring, and four assessments of mood and alertness throughout a day.
Preceding the laboratory study, two-week diaries were completed, allowing the assessment of lifestyle regularity and the timing of sleep. Also assessed was grief, depression and sleep quality.
The study found four months after the spouse's death, grief was still present, and sleep was subjectively poor, short and fairly inefficient.
"For most people, spousal bereavement is the most devastating life event that they will ever experience," Monk said in a statement. "In our study, we found significant sleep disruption in spousally bereaved seniors."
The findings were presented at the 22nd annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Baltimore.
