Elderly women who sleep less are 'more likely to fall'

Women aged 70 and over who do not get enough sleep in bed are more likely to fall over, a new study conducted in San Francisco found.

The research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that females who got less than five hours sleep a night were at a higher risk of accidents.

This was compared to those who got seven to eight hours bed rest a night.

To carry out the research participants were given wrist actigraphies and diaries to monitor their sleep efficiency and how much time they spent in bed. The number of falls over a year was also recorded.

Results show that women who had a sleep efficiency of less than 70 per cent were 1.36 times more likely to fall.

Using medication to help get a good night's rest does not seem to affect the relation between sleeping and falling, according to the results.

The NHS says the average adult gets between 7.5 and 8.5 hours in bed a night. However, many elderly people find they actually sleep less as they get older, although it is not known why.

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