Abstract
This study aimed at explaining the influence of foot care before bed as an aid to natural sleep in elderly people who often suffer from sleeping disorders. 22 subjects living in welfare facilities for the aged whose average age was 80.2 ± 6.4 years old were examined. During the five-day experiment period an actigraph was attached to each of the subjects and a comparison was made between nights when foot care was given and the nights it was not. Differences in sleep minutes, wake episodes, sleep latency and sleep efficiency were noted. An OSA questionnaire was also carried out. Though no conclusive difference was noted between nights when foot care was and was not given. In an investigation of individual subjects, no difference was found in the ratio between those whose sleeping conditions improved and those whose sleeping conditions deteriorated. According to the OSA questionnaire we conducted, in the factors 1(sleepiness) and 2(sleep continuity), those who improved were seen to greatly outnumber those who deteriorated. As a result it became clear that there are elderly people who made improvement in the feeling of sleep through foot care.
