Stop worrying! Were all expected to sleep less as we get older. Its a natural part of the aging process.
Research shows a clear relationship between age and sleep habits. The newborn infant sleeps up to eighteen hours a day. As the child grows older, sleeping gradually drops until it reaches the adult level sometime between the ages of ten and twenty. A very slight decline continues, however, throughout the course of ones life.
Not only does the length of time spent sleeping change but also the pattern of sleep are realigned. Instead of going to bed at midnight, the older person may turn in at ten, and rather than rising at seven or eight in the morning, be wide awake by sunrise. An older person may wake up and go back to sleep several times during the course of the night and take quite a few short naps during the day.
Scientists say that as we age our brain activity becomes less synchronized. This diminishes the quality and efficiency of our sleep periods. Older people feel less rested because their Delta activity or Deep Sleep time has decreased.
Its important to understand these changing body rhythms. Sleeping less is perfectly normal, and sleeping pills should not be taken to counteract it unless under a physicians strict guidance. In fact, studies show that older people are especially prone to the sleep and otherwise distorting side effects that pills can cause.
Robin Westen writes about health for national magazines.
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