Do the Elderly Require Less Sleep?

February 1st, 2010 · No Comments

Welcome back!

Recent studies performed in the United Kingdom reveal elderly people require less sleep than do younger generations. How long a person sleeps at night is okay as long as he or she does not feel sleep deprived during the day. The study also found that sleeping various (length) hours was okay as long as the person was not napping during the day.

The study consisted of 110 people with the age groups broken down as this:

20-30 years of age
40-55 years of age
66-83 years of age

The participants were included in the study if they had no sleep disorders and didn’t complain of lack of sleep.

They were also tested as to napping during the day and how that affected their night time sleep. The findings showed the elderly took longer to fall to sleep, as well as sleeping less hours. The findings also confirmed that for all age groups if they need to sleep during the day, they are not getting enough sleep at night. When people get enough sleep at night, they do not need nor are they required to take a nap during the day to remain healthy.

Effects of lack of sleep

Past studies have shown there are risk factors if a person consistently sleeps less than 6 or 7 hours a night, no matter what their age. Those risk factors include:

Risk of high blood pressure
Hypertension
Obesity
Diabetes
Cancer
Dementia

How much sleep a person needs continues to be a mystery to researchers. They admit they do not really know how much sleep an individual requires to stay healthy, but the bottom line as far as required sleep is concerned, remains how they feel and are able to perform the next day.

In a 2008 research study reported at that time in Current Biology, participants were asked to stay in a darkened room for 16 hours for several days in a row to see how long they could sleep. Younger people slept 9 hours on average while older people slept an average of 7.5 hours, confirming the elderly needed less sleep.

Mayo Clinic sleep guidelines

The Mayo Clinic has set the following guidelines for all age groups as to the recommended amount of sleep each individual should get during the night:

PreSchoolers 11 hours
School-age 10 hours
Teens 9 hours
Adults 7-8 hours
Seniors 7-8 hours

Do you have trouble falling asleep? Here are a few suggestions that may make falling asleep and staying asleep a bit easier for you:

Exercise
Avoid caffeine and alcohol
Keep a regular bedtime and place to sleep (preferably in a darkened bedroom)

To answer the question raised in the title, do the elderly require less sleep, it appears that they do not need as much sleep as other age groups. As the Mayo Clinic chart above reveals, as people age from preschool to adult, they do indeed require less sleep. As long as the elderly do not feel sleep deprived or inclined to take a nap during the day, they can feel assured they are getting enough sleep.

If you would like more information on the results of the study, and the effect on the elderly, you can visit the website www.LiveScience.com for further reading about this subject.