The Truth About Aging & Sleep
How much sleep do you need as you age?
Why is insomnia so common among older people?
And what can you do to get a good night's sleep?
♦♦♦♦♦
Do older people need the same amount of sleep as younger people?
- Older adults need 7 to 9 hours a night, the same amount as younger folks.
- Sleeping less or more than that can throw off your body’s natural rhythm & make you tired during the day.
What percentage of older adults have a hard time sleeping?
- Insomnia is a common sleep issue for people 50 - 60 & older.
- You may have trouble falling asleep or wake up too often or too early.
- You may not be able to get back to sleep & feel tired in the morning.
- Many different things can cause insomnia.
- It’s worth a conversation with your doctor if you’re not sleeping well.
As you get older, you're more likely to become an Early Bird.
- A change to your body’s internal clock may mean you’re up before the sun.
- Older people tend to fall asleep earlier at night & wake up earlier than they used to.
- This pattern is called advanced sleep phase syndrome.
- It might not be a problem, unless you miss out on nighttime fun with friends & family.
- If you need to reset your body clock, get out in the sunlight from late afternoon until
sunset.
Changes in sleep patterns mean older adults
spend more time in light sleep.
- That could be why we wake up more easily as we get older.
- Deep sleep, called slow wave sleep, is when your body repairs itself & builds energy for
the next day. - REM is dream sleep, when your eyes move quickly in different directions.
- During that stage, your brain processes information from the day before & shifts it into
long-term memory.
A change in this hormone may affect your sleep as you age.
- Yes, Melatonin will affect your sleep.
- Your body makes less of this as you get older.
- It’s made by a gland in your brain & controls your sleep-wake cycle.
- It’s released into your blood at night & helps you feel sleepy.
- Your levels of it stay high throughout the night & drop off by the next morning
This is a common sleep disorder in older people.
- Symptoms of sleep apnea, like snoring or pauses in breathing, can wake you up often
during the night. - You may not know this is happening, only that you feel tired during the day.
- RLS, which causes unpleasant tingling in your legs, is worse at night.
- And about 80% of people with RLS also have periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD),
which makes your legs jerk every 20 to 40 seconds during sleep
One kind of sleep disorder can make you act out your dreams.
- During REM sleep, your muscles can’t move, so your body is still.
- But REM behavior disorder turns this off.
- So you might talk, yell out, or even jump out of bed while you’re asleep.
- It’s not common, but it happens most often in men over age 50.
How much should you nap during the day time?
- If you nap, you shouldn’t sleep longer than 20 minutes.
- You may find yourself dozing off more often as you get older.
- Naps can perk you up, but keep them short.
- This is about all you need to feel better.
- Snoozing longer can make you feel groggy.
- And don’t nap in the late afternoon or early evening.
- That can make it harder to get to sleep at night.
Research shows when you may sleep better when you retire!
- One large French study found that people were 26% less likely to report sleep problems
in the first 7 years after retirement than in the 7 before. - Men reported better sleep in those years than women.
- An Australian study found that retirement was linked to good lifestyle changes like
exercising sleeping more.
The best time to do exercise is in the late afternoon!
- Physical activity is important for your health as you get older, but timing is key.
- Your body temperature rises while you exercise & can take as long as 6 hours to drop.
- You’ll have an easier time falling asleep if your body is cooler.
If you can’t fall asleep 30 minutes after going to bed,
you should get out of bed.
- Don’t lie in bed tossing & turning.
- Go to another room & do something soothing like reading or listening to music.
- Go back to bed once you feel drowsy.
- Don’t turn on the TV or use your computer or cell phone.
- The light from those devices can make it hard to fall asleep.
This Health problem can mix up your days & nights is Dementia!
- Researchers think Alzheimer’s disease & other kinds of dementia may damage the areas
of the brain that control sleep. - Some people who have these diseases may doze during the day & stay awake at night.
- Those who can’t sleep may wander around the house or yell or call out.
Copyright © 2012-2019 KosherWoman.com
All rights reserved.
