Sleep quality of elders living in long-term care institutions QUALIDADE DO SONO DE IDOSOS RESIDENTES EM INSTITUIÇÃO DE LONGA PERMANÊNCIA CALIDAD DEL SUEÑO DE ANCIANOS RESIDENTES EN INSTITUCIONES DE LARGA PERMANENCIA

This study was aimed at evaluating sleep quality and identifying sleep related problems among elderly people living in longterm care institutions in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Subjects were 38 cognitively preserved elders living in these institutions for at least a year. Data collection was performed using the following instruments: Identification Form, Katz Index and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results showed that 81.6% of the studied elders reported their sleep quality was good or very good. Nevertheless, there was an elevated frequency of sleep related problems such as: getting up to go to the bathroom (63.2%); getting up in the middle of the night or very early in the morning (50%); feeling too hot (23.7%); feeling pain (21.1%). These findings show an evident contradiction between elders' perception of their sleep quality and the actual elevated number of identified sleep problems.