“We need to continue to increase awareness among doctors,” he told Reuters Health.
Doctors and psychiatrists should recognize that sleep complaints along with depression indicate elevated suicide risk and require treatment, he said. Prescription sleep aids work immediately, but carry risk of dependence and tolerance, and behavioral therapy can work but takes a few weeks to be effective.
Experts agree: the vast majority of older people who suffer from sleep problems are not suicidal.
“We don’t want to create needless panic for older people who are otherwise psychologically healthy and can’t sleep,” McCall said. “For them it’s not time to ring the alarm.”
“If someone has a mental disorder diagnosis, then the additional burden of insomnia should be the warning sign,” he said. (Reuters)[eap_ad_3]