Why Aging Is Destroying Your Sleep

I've averaged about 4.5 hours sleep for practically all my adult life, in part due to spending several years in the military. At 77 it's still about the same, but what I notice is that if I awake sometime during my sleep, I rarely fall back asleep, end up closing my eyes to rest and at times meditate. I have found that eating a spoonful of good quality honey about 30 minutes before going to bed has helped. I'm very active with sports and average 5000+ km per year walking. In good health and mentally sharp, vegetarian for close to 40 years.

We all know that bad sleep is a problem. But the real problem is how to solve that problem.

Don’t need a question..need an answer..

Many become more sedentary as they age and that negatively affects sleep. The more active you are during the day and the more exercise you get, the better you’ll sleep. That is my direct observation

When you pose a "how to" in a video title, please answer it. Thanks.

It's Nature's way of telling you: you won't be around much longer, don't waste so much time sleeping.

I am 61. I am fortunate (and grateful) for sleeping very well, otherwise I couldn't do my job properly (I've been a professional aircraft pilot for 2/3 of my life). I can get awaken by some strange noise or by my german shepherd poking me, go downstairs, open the door for her, climb back and fall asleep in a matter of minutes (I very seldom "flip beefs" in bed). I try to eat well / hydrate well / exercise a little (swim / take walks). Whenever possible, I sleep between 7 and 8 hours in a row. It depends on my flight duty periods...it is what it is.

I used to have sleep issues on Sunday nights when I’d have to return to work Monday morning. At 72 finally fully retired. No more sleep issues.😊

So, how do we wake up feeling refreshed?

but you didn't tell us how to wake up refreshed!!

This was a great video. Great info. You are doing such great work.

I sleep with an O2 ring that vibrates when SPO2 drops to 88% or heart rate drops below 45 BPM. When it vibrates, I'm usually on my back, and so I simply roll over to my side, and my SPO2 rises immediately to stop the vibration -- and I continue dreaming. I don't even remember it the next day, but I can see the event in the sleep data. Q: Is there any data that suggest what normal SPO2 levels are during the various phases of sleep?

I’m 74 , overall sleep quite well and although I can get dozy in the evening I don’t doze off during the day. Experience during one or two health issues when I couldn’t sleep well was that listening to rain sounds or an audiobook helped considerably. I now do this every night and although I wake up a couple of times, sleep for 7 to 8 hours. What I don’t know is whether listening to these sounds while sleeping affects the actual quality of my sleep. Experiments to establish this would be useful.

I nap everyday. My napping started about age 55. Now at 69 , I’m having sleep problems. I have sleep interruptions every mornings about 3 am. I eat and have good daily exercise program. I’m going to seek professional help.

What the….well thanks for telling us about sleep problems.haha

Nice to see someone mentioning delta brain wave activity reduction as we age, now we just need something to do about it!

You talked a lot an very fast but I am not sure you said anything of use.

It’s not surprising that sleep quality decreases as overall health quality does – the body's systems are very much tied together. I too was struggling with insomnia for some time now, mainly due to stress and anxiety at work. Tried some sleeping pills, which were prescribed, and they worked – sort of. I could feel them working much less effectively over time. Stopped after a couple of weeks and I was back to square one. Decided to try a new tact and pick up meditation and some supplements. I have to say that after a few months using the Waking Up app as well as standardized hot-water Tongkat Ali root extract and magnesium, I’ve never slept better in my life. Am hoping this will prove to be a solution that sticks!

I’m 79 this month and sleep fine with lots of stage 4 sleep but I do a lot of mental and physical exercise, cycling, skiing, graphic design. Do old people sleep less because they are old or because they are sedentary mentally and physically? Do babies sleep a lot because they are babies or because they are absorbing vast amounts of new information?

Napping after 1:00 pm hurts sleep the following night. Eating a meal after 4:00 pm impacts sleep quality at night. Food needs time to digest before sleeping. Caffeine like coffee, tea ], chocolate and other drinks after noon will impact sleep that night. Have a cool room 66 - 70. Make sure the room is dark. No visible night lights when in bed. A hot shower or bath 2 hours before going to bed relaxes the body and prepares for sleep.