Introduction: Life expectancy increases, bringing social, economic and political challenges. In our paper, we focus on occupational therapy (OT) for older adults suffering from sleep problems. We spend a third of our lives sleeping, which also affects our functioning during the day, so the quality of sleep is particularly important. When we talk about sleep disorders, we mean reduced quality and quantity of sleep. Over time, sleep disorders can have an impact on quality of life. Occupational therapists (OTh) are not yet fully involved in the treatment of sleep problems. The AOTA recognizes sleep as a profession and occupational therapists as experts, helping older adults master sleep habits to improve daily functioning. Aim: This paper aims to examine the literature on how the consequences of sleep deprivation affect the quality of life of older adults from the perspective of occupational therapy and how occupational therapy is incorporated into the treatment of sleep disorders. Methods: A literature search was conducted with remote access to the databases of the University of Ljubljana. We searched the bibliographic databases Web of Science, CINAHL and PubMed. We defined the exclusion and inclusion criteria and searched using the keywords. We also determined the level of evidence at the same time. Results: In the final analysis, we identified seven articles. Using the thematic analysis, we defined 3 themes: consequences of sleep disorders and their effect on the quality of life from the OT perspective; OT interventions for sleep disorders in older adults; the influence of environmental organization on sleep. Discussion and conclusion: Sleep is very important for older adults. The consequences of sleep deprivation can lead to deterioration in quality of life, need for support, exclusion from work and, over time, withdrawal from society. OT interventions include sleep education, establishing a nighttime routine, limiting sleep-related activities, and sleep restriction – limiting sleep during the day and replenishing it with other activities that promote sleep. The most commonly used tool to assess sleep was the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and sleep diaries. The need to treat sleep problems in older adults is increasing, and occupational therapy can help.
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