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Medicalisation, Pharmaceuticalisation, and the Sleep Problematisation of Older Age in the UK

This qualitative study explores how sleep in older adults is increasingly framed as a problem requiring medical or pharmaceutical attention. Through interviews with UK health professionals, the authors find that sleep issues in older age are often normalized, yet insomnia is also increasingly viewed through a medical lens, especially in general practice. However, medicalization is uneven: doctors often express reluctance to prescribe, and some are moving toward non-drug interventions or “de-pharmaceuticalisation.”

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Updated 2025-07-08

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Mindfulness

Psychology

Social Science

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Disability Studies

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