Insomnia affects 38.2% of adults aged 80 years and older, according to a new cross-sectional study from Turkey, and the condition is closely tied to factors that clinicians can identify and address.
The study, published in the Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira, screened 419 patients aged 80 and older at the Advanced Age Unit of Elazig City Hospital between October and November 2025. Insomnia was assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), with a score of 8 or higher defining clinically meaningful insomnia.
What they found
Several factors were significantly associated with higher insomnia prevalence in this age group:
- Female sex: Women reported insomnia significantly more often than men (p = 0.010).
- Low economic status: Financial hardship was linked to a higher rate of insomnia (p = 0.033).
- History of falls: Participants who had fallen showed elevated insomnia prevalence (p < 0.05).
- Chronic disease burden: Hypertension and diabetes were both associated with insomnia (p < 0.05).
- Polypharmacy: Taking multiple medications correlated strongly with insomnia.
The relationship was dose-dependent: the ISI score showed a positive correlation with the number of chronic diseases (r = 0.487, p < 0.001) and the number of medications used (r = 0.455, p < 0.001). In other words, the more health conditions or drugs a patient had, the more severe their insomnia tended to be.
Why it matters
Sleep complaints in very old adults are often dismissed as an inevitable consequence of aging. This study challenges that assumption directly. The authors conclude that insomnia in this population “should not be considered a normal part of aging, but a manageable condition that affects overall well-being.”
With the global population aged 80 and older projected to triple by 2050, the findings carry practical weight. Clinicians who treat older patients are in a position to identify modifiable risk factors, reducing unnecessary polypharmacy, managing comorbidities, and screening for sleep problems routinely, rather than accepting poor sleep as a given in geriatric care.
Limits
The study is cross-sectional, meaning it captures associations but cannot establish causality. The sample comes from a single hospital in Turkey, which may limit generalizability to other populations or care settings. Insomnia was measured by self-report questionnaire rather than objective sleep recording, and unmeasured confounders (such as cognitive impairment, living situation, or caregiver burden) were not fully accounted for.
Bottom line
More than one in three adults aged 80 and older meet criteria for insomnia, and the condition tracks closely with polypharmacy, chronic disease burden, and fall history. Geriatric care should include routine sleep screening, not assume that poor sleep is simply what old age feels like.
Source
Beler M, Celenk YB. Prevalence of insomnia and related factors in individuals aged 80 years and over: a cross-sectional study. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2026 Jun 15;72(4):e20251961. DOI: 10.1590/1806-9282.20251961. PMID: 42307300.