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.

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

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

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

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

So, how do we wake up feeling refreshed?

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.

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

I was waiting for some advice towards the end of this video, but none was forthcoming. So all doom and gloom as we get older? May as well pull the plug now.

I am not sleepy during the day. For last 7 years, stopped taking naps. Almost 67. Had panic for a month. Got back to good sleep for a month. Dr prescribed a tiny little diuretic and back to sleeping 50 to 60 percent of the night. No panic. Just cannot sleep.

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.😊

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.

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

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.

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

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?

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

I'm different. I'm a musician/night owl. At night, cortisol elevates and I'm motivated to do things. Even if I sleep a solid 8, I wake up very slowly. Even after coffee, I'm not awake for hours.... I've always had issues getting to sleep. I just don't do normal. Now I'm 73. I get to bed around 1am now. I wake up way too early, 7 or 8, or before. I usually don't drink. I'm experimenting with low carb to keep blood sugar lower... Upon waking, after coffee, I'm energetic for about 2 hours, then the rest of the day is a slog... a good nap is rare, but I do lay down, rest, then get back to my slog. My mother died of Alzheimers. 15 or more years before, she had major sleep issues... and this was before phones with screens. I need a sleep study. I do have a CPAP.... notice I sleep so much better on workout days and long days working in the yard.