The idea that aging automatically leads to sleep problems is a myth, according to the experts. People over 50 don’t necessarily sleep any worse (or any less) than we ever did. But we do sleep differently.
A milestone 2003 study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation took a close look at the sleep habits of Americans between the ages of 55 and 84 and came to the encouraging conclusion that people over 55 may actually sleep better than adults aged 18-54. According to the NSF study, a higher percentage of older adults are sleeping 7-9 hours per night (56% vs. 51%). And as an added bonus, the 32% of older adults who nap during the day get an average of 41-51 minutes of supplemental sleep time.
This is excellent news, because the idea that older people need less sleep is also a myth. The National Institute of Health says that while sleep needs do change over the course of a lifetime, the big change comes long before middle age. Children and adolescents need more sleep than adults, but older adults need about the same amount of sleep as younger adults.
Then why aren’t I sleeping as well as I used to?!
Maybe it’s your sleep schedule. According to NIH, sleep patterns change throughout life and one of the most significant pattern changes happens when we hit the “older adult” category. People over 50 tend to become sleepier earlier in the evening (which explains why you keep nodding off in front of the TV) and wake up earlier in the morning.
Unless we understand and adjust to natural sleep pattern changes it’s easy to feel that we’re just not “sleeping right”. If you keep sleeping through the 11 o’clock news but find yourself tossing and turning in the wee hours, try moving everything back a bit – go to bed somewhat earlier and rise earlier – an easy fix to the feeling that “I can’t stay awake till I go to bed, but then I can’t stay asleep!”
But it could be more than how you set your alarm clock. The NSF study shows a powerful correlation between the quality of sleep and overall health, both mental and physical. The better one’s overall physical health, the better the quality of sleep. And the greater the incidence of depression and negative life outlook, the more likely the occurrence of sleep problems.
Of course, actual sleep disorders do occur in all age groups and being over 50 is certainly no guarantee of immunity. NIH Senior Health says sleep-disordered breathing (such as snoring and sleep apnea) and movement disorders like restless legs syndrome are the most common sleep disorders in older adults.
An insidious sidenote: worrying about the quality of our sleep can be a significant factor in lowering it. Older adults do tend to be more concerned about the quality of sleep than younger adults, and when that concern gets out of hand it can result in what amounts to performance anxiety. The more time we spend talking to ourselves and others about how we just never sleep well anymore, the more we’re programming ourselves to sleep badly.
