Summary

According to a recent study by the Centers For Disease Control...the prevalence of insufficient sleep decreased with age. An estimated 13.3 percent of adults aged 18-34 reported insufficient rest or sleep everyday in the past month compared to only 7.3 percent of adults ages 55 and older. While some studies have found sleep disturbance more prevalent among older adults, results from this study are consistent with other research that supports the idea that older adults (who are more likely to be retired) make fewer complaints regarding impaired sleep and adapt their perception of what encompasses sufficient sleep.

As you age, your body secretes smaller amounts of key substances that help your body decide when to sleep and when to wake up. Levels of growth hormone, which promotes deep sleep, and melatonin, which regulates your sleeping and waking cycle, decrease as you age. As a result, your circadian rhythm (the internal clock that tells you to go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning) changes. You might find yourself going to bed earlier and waking up earlier.

As you get older, you might find that getting a good night's sleep becomes more difficult. You might find that:

- You have a harder time staying asleep

- You sleep lighter

- You wake up three or four times each night

Despite the frustrating disturbances, you still need the same amount of sleep that you needed when you were younger — about 7 or 8 hours a night. Because you likely wake up more often during the night and don't sleep as soundly, you may spend more time in bed at night or you might need a nap during the day to get those same eight quality hours of sleep.

In addition, if you have diabetes, leg edema, enlarged prostate or incontinence, these conditions might cause you to urinate more frequently. Add to that the fact that your bladder capacity shrinks as you age, and you might find yourself getting up at night to use the toilet more often. Getting up so often can make it hard to get back to sleep.

Other conditions, such as heart disease and COPD, can cause breathing difficulties.

Some common sleep disorders in seniors:

Restless Legs Syndrome

RLS (Restless legs syndrome) is a disorder causing unpleasant crawling, prickling, or tingling sensations in the legs and feet and an urge to move them for relief, is emerging as one of the most common sleep disorders, especially among older people. While it is most common in people over the age of 60, it can develop at any age and may be related to conditions such as anemia, pregnancy or diabetes.

Many RLS patients also have a disorder known as periodic limb movement disorder or PLMD, which causes repetitive jerking movements of the limbs, especially the legs. These movements occur every 20 to 40 seconds and cause repeated awakening and severely fragmented sleep. In one study, RLS and PLMD accounted for a third of the insomnia seen in patients older than age 60.