Nursing intervention in older adults with insomnia

Abstract

Introduction. Aging is loosely related to the chronological age of the person and in turn to the loss of physical, functional, psychological and social capacities. Sleep is a physiological process of fascination and of vital importance for the comprehensive health of the human being, the aging process alters the stages of sleep, which in the long term has side effects and represents economic costs for those older adults who are prescribed with pharmacological treatments.  The amount of sleep remains constant throughout adult life, which is why doctors recommend that older adults sleep 7 to 8 hours a day to meet their sleep needs. There are sleep problems in older adults and one of them is insomnia, which is reflected in their daily lives, which is why music therapy appears as a non-pharmacological treatment to help reduce insomnia. Objetive. To evaluate the effect of nursing intervention in older adults with insomnia. Methodology. This research is quantitative, quasi-experimental in design, longitudinal and descriptive in scope. It was carried out in a period between April 2024-June 2024, in the province of Tungurahua, Canton Ambato, Parroquia La Matriz, Neighborhood Ciudadela España. The sample was 21 older adults from the Hogar de Ancianos Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results. The results obtained in this research demonstrate that music therapy as a nursing intervention has positive effects on older adults with insomnia. Conclusion.  With the application of the Athens Test before and after the music therapy sessions, a significant improvement was shown in various aspects of sleep, such as difficulty falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and total sleep duration.