Story at-a-glance
- Both insomnia and sleep medication use independently increase disability risk in older adults, affecting basic activities like dressing, bathing and walking
- Research tracking 6,722 older adults found that even mild increases in sleep troubles predicted greater physical disability in the following year
- Using sleep medications worsened disability outcomes rather than improving them, with the combination of insomnia plus medication causing the steepest decline
- Complete darkness during sleep is important, as even small amounts of light disrupt melatonin production and interfere with your body's natural sleep signals
- Nondrug approaches like eliminating electromagnetic field (EMF) sources, avoiding blue light after sunset and regular daytime movement provide safer alternatives to sleep medications
