Peter - Interview 19

Age at interview: 66

Brief Outline: Peter sometimes finds it difficult to get to sleep and stay asleep because of a shoulder injury and lower back pain. He only very occasionally dozes off during the day, but sometimes might if he has been active, or has gone for a long run. Peter feels that there are times in his life when he has more to worry about, and this will most likely affect how he sleeps.

Background: Married, 2 children, retired Systems Engineer

More about me...

A typical night’s sleep for Peter means going to bed at about 11 o’clock and waking up at 6 to 6.30 am and feels he usually gets about 7 to 7 ½ hours’ sleep a night. He usually stays in bed until after the 8 o’clock news, when he will get ready for the day ahead. However, Peter sometimes finds that his sleep is disturbed by pain from arthritis, and has to get up and take a painkiller. He may then stay up and flip through the television channels for up to an hour, until he feels tired enough to go back to bed and try sleeping again.

 

Whilst he doesn’t currently fall asleep during the day very often, Peter anticipates that may happen more frequently as he gets older. He also doesn’t like falling asleep in the day because he feels tired when he wakes up and does not think it does him any good. Peter dislikes spending too much time in bed, and doesn’t like being in bed during the daytime.

 

Peter likes to keep fit by running and working in his garden. He is also undertaking an Open University degree which he finds stimulating and challenging.

Peter would only go to his doctor about problems sleeping if he wasn't able to do all the things he needed to during the day.

How bad will it have to be for you to go to the doctor and say I need help now?

 

Peter' I don’t know.

 

Is it more about the length of time or the disturbance?

 

Peter' I think it would be a case that I wasn’t coping in the day.

 

Right. Okay.

 

Peter' Coping with what I wanted to do in the day. Wasn’t able to drive or walk somewhere I needed to go. Wasn’t able to study. I started to read and I fell asleep too often.

 

Then that would be your trigger say for going to the doctor.

 

Peter' Yes. I think so. You know, if I am not doing what I want to do. I am not able to generally cope I think that would be the trigger. Not the sleep itself. I don’t see why a lot of elderly people complain about not sleeping at night. If they are getting enough sleep and able to cope I don’t see the problem. Your Dad used to complain didn’t he and I thought what is he doing, what's the bother? He can doze in the day, just doze in the day, why bother about sleeping at night?

 

Heather' It wasn’t stopping him doing anything he wants.

An injury to his shoulder several years before continued to cause Peter pain and on some nights and he has to get up and take painkillers so that he can get back to sleep.

An average night’s sleep I will go to bed at about eleven. Hopefully get to sleep fairly soon, within ten minutes, quarter of an hour. Could be a problem if I don’t, if I don’t get to sleep fairly soon. A few years ago, well quite a few years ago, I injured my left shoulder. I fell in the shower after running a road race at the YMCA in [Town]. And broke the ball and socket joint on the left side. Well I have to lay on the left side, if I lay on the right side the hanging sort of arm aches badly, but sometimes laying on the left side starts to ache and if I don’t get to sleep, can keep me awake. Under which situation I need to get up and take a painkiller, stay up for anything from half an hour to an hour, watching night time television which is pretty dreadful even though we have got digital. But a normal night I will sleep through generally reasonably well until six something, six thirtyish. Stay in bed till ten past eight, turn on the radio at eight, just before eight for the news and get up at ten past eight. That is typical.  

Peter feels his sleep will gradually change as he got older, but thinks that's a normal part of ageing.

How do you feel about the whole daytime sleep? If you, you know, if you did more of it how would you feel about that?

 

That it was something of my age I should think. I should think in future in might become more of the norm from what I have seen of older people.

 

So you are expecting there to be some change perhaps in sleep?

 

Yes. I don’t expect it to be a step change. I expect it to be a gradual sort of gradual…

 

So if your sleep changed to the point where you were sleeping more during the day would that worry you at all?

 

No. I would just think that was pretty normal.