Young people require more shut-eye than the rest of us. Perhaps you remember being young, and even if you got the correct ratio of sleep each night, you felt tired at certain times during the day? Mercifully, that lethargic stage does not remain forever. Studies have revealed that as you age you require less sleep.
How much sleep each person needs appears to vary greatly. Some are just fine getting a few hours per night but others may still be groggy after eight hours worth. Reports abound about getting too much sleep; research attests to the effects of to little sleep on the body. As a normal American, we get both sides of the sleep coin at the same time. The advice you get may drift to either side of the pendulum, so you just need to find some schedule that works for you and your sleep needs.
It is no secret that as individuals get older they might have a harder time sleeping. They are fidgety and can’t get to sleep for a good portion of the night. Researchers in the U.K. have attested that older people need less sleep. They even noted that occasional divergence from one’s usual sleep patterns is common and healthy so long as sleepiness doesn’t spiral out of control.
Experts commenting on the study assert that “healthy aging appears to be associated with reductions in the sleep duration and depth required to maintain daytime alertness.” But they also warned that many people are afflicted with sleep deprivation. This loss of focus due to too little sleep can cause auto accidents and even death in elderly people.
From the study, research workers learned that sleep differences explained by age. They noted when participants spent eight hours in bed, the 20-30 year olds got about 7.23 hours of sleep. Those in the 40-55 group slept 6.83 hours and 66-82 year olds slept 6.51 hours. Also those in the older age bracket were less likely to be in deep sleep mode than their more youthful counterparts. You need to be a great observer so you can understand if the sleeping pills are working right for you or not. Many reviews state that the sleeping pills may cause opposite effect on the body if taken in heavy dose. So in essence, the older you become the less sleep you get and the less sleep you require.
The research also showed how it took progressively more time for the older age groups to nod off. When the 20-30 year olds were in bed or trying to take a nap it took them 8.7 minutes to get to sleep, while it took 40-55 year olds 11.7 minutes and 14.2 minutes for the 66-83 group.
The amount of sleep an individual gets can affect both short and long-term health. But as people age they require less and less sleep. You can find suggestions about just how much sleep is optimum, it’s kind of a personal thing. Taking that into consideration, the majority of adults should normally get between six and eight hours of sleep per night, but you knew that already, right?
