Are you a good sleeper? I hope so. In fact if you're in your 80's you may be getting the best sleep of us all. Recent reports from a phone survey of over 155,000 people indicate that either we tend to complain less about not sleeping as we get older (with the exception of the years between 40 and 59) or the quality of our sleep actually increases with age and peaks in our 80's. Those were surprising findings for sleep scientists and they may be surprising to you!
Sleep researchers had reason to assume that sleep quality degrades with age because at around 50 years the "architecture" of our sleep begins to change. Our bodies don't produce as much melatonin (which helps with sleep regulation) and we spend less time in the non dreaming stage of sleep called slow-wave or deep sleep. When we're very young we spend alot of time in deep sleep, when we grow old we may go days without entering that phase. Consequently, researchers expect older generations to have more wakeful episodes in bed and to find it harder to get back to sleep when awaken. Maybe you fit that description? Many people do but it's not because of age, the study suggests, it's caused by stress and health problems.
Anxiety, stress, medicines and many health problems can radically impact the quality of our sleep. 90 milllion of us snore, and 40 million suffer from some kind of sleep disorder. 1 in 4 women over 65 have sleep apnea and 40% are estimated to experience insomnia. So, if you're skeptical of the study findings because they contradict your experience---you're not alone. Sleep helps memory, concentration and, less obviously, boosts our immune functions. The average adult needs 8 hours of it. Stimulants like caffeine, tobacco and alcohol (which is both a stimulant and depressant) can ruin sound sleep. Long daytime naps or drinking liquids too late can cause us to awaken at night. If the study results are accurate, sleep doesn't have to be a challenge as we age. If we can stay healthy and avoid behaviors that aggravate good rest we can look forward to many good hours of zzzzz's. Sweet dreams!
Update Feb 2013: Sleep and memory are closely related, science finds. As we get older our sleep doesn't regenerate memory like it once did...
Update June 2013: Great sleep infographic from the National Institute of Health
Update Dec 2013: Brain cleansing function of sleep discovered!
Update March 2015: Wonderful site with advice from people 65+, some with health challenges, on how to fall asleep and enjoy a good night's rest. Testimonies are available in text, audio only, or video.
Update May 2017: Does the brain eat itself when we don't get enough sleep? That's what science if finding.
