5 Sleep Habits Everyone Over The Age Of 60 Should Adopt
When you
could go to bed at midnight and sleep until noon? Once you left your 20s
behind, you probably realized that getting a good night’s sleep differs
dramatically the older you get.
That’s because sleep
patterns change as you age. Adults in their 50s and 60s have a harder
time falling asleep and getting necessary REM to rejuvenate their bodies.
While you still need seven to
eight hours of sleep per night, when and how you sleep changes. Here
are five easy tips to help you remain well-rested so your mind and body stay
healthy and alert.
1. Get in a
routine
Insomnia is
the most prevalent sleep problem in adults over 60. To combat this frustrating
sleep disorder, go to bed and get up at the same time each day to reset your
circadian rhythms. Limit napping and bump
up your bedtime a little earlier if you feel drowsy during the day.
You may find your night owl ways from
your youth have completely vanished and now you need to go to bed earlier — and
that’s OK. Earlier to bed means earlier to rise, so you’ll be able to enjoy
quiet mornings instead of quiet nights.
If you find that light is keeping you
up or waking you too early, try investing in some blackout curtains to create a
darker
sleep environment.
2. Upgrade your
mattress
Don’t jump to conclusions if you’re
having a hard time sleeping with each passing year. It might not be your
health, but your mattress. It’s recommended that you replace your mattress
every eight years. Why? Because your old one could be a breeding ground for
germs and may not support your body the way you need it to — leading to
soreness, muscle aches and potential chronic skeletal problems. Here are some
warning signs that it’s time to go mattress shopping:
- You wake up stiff and sore
regularly.
- You’ve made a visible groove in your bed
(more than half of an inch).
- You wake yourself up while trying to get
comfortable (tossing and turning).
- You find yourself drifting off to sleep
more easily in a chair
than in bed.
If you’re on a limited income and are
unable to upgrade your mattress, consider purchasing a mattress
topper. It’s an inexpensive way to improve the quality of your bed.
3. Get exercise
Exercise is important for everyone,
regardless of age. And it’s not just for your overall health, either. It can
also affect your sleep quality too. Just 30
minutes of moderate exercise per day (getting your heart pumping to a
level that feels challenging) has been shown to improve sleep.
Get in the practice of taking a
rigorous walk, swim, bike ride or exercise class each day. Not only will you
sleep better, but you could also improve your heart health and benefit from a
slew of other
upsides too.
4. Sleep next to
plants
Getting older doesn’t just impact your
REM sleep, it can also affect your lungs too. As your skeleton weakens and
changes shape, your rib cage and lungs become compromised, leading
to lung capacity and efficiency issues.
That means every breath you
take is extra important for your health because oxygen loss can lead to
dizziness and falls — the leading
cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries in seniors. Poor oxygen intake
can also lead to other issues like chest pain and general discomfort, which can
make sleeping difficult.
Certain flora like the spider plant,
peace lily and snake plant are known air
purifiers. This means they remove harmful, volatile organic compounds from
the air. These plants also filter carbon dioxide and replace it with clean
oxygen, so there’s more pure air for you to take in as you
sleep.
5. Go to the
doctor
Certain sleep problems could be caused
by mental and physical illnesses. If you find your sleep patterns changing —
causing you to lose sleep or wake up fatigued even after a full night’s sleep —
call your doctor immediately. Common conditions that keep seniors awake include
sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome, which can be treated with medication.
On that note, certain prescription
drugs can actually lead to less restful sleep and sleep loss. Read up on
which medications
and drug ingredients negatively impact sleep so you can avoid them, if
at all possible. Be sure to consult your doctor before stopping any
medications.
Getting older can be a lot easier when
you’re prepared with the right information. Sleep is the time when cells
regenerate and the mind restores itself, which means that getting a good
night’s rest is critical for your health. Follow our tips above to start
sleeping better at night — and feeling better
during the day.
Which problem
came first?
Not everyone with sleep problems in
Bendlin’s study had abnormalities in their spinal fluid. For example, those
with obstructive sleep apnea showed no association. With over 18 millions
Americans diagnosed with the condition, obstructive sleep apnea is one of the
most common sleep disorders. It’s characterized by loud snoring and waking by
gasping or choking, which occurs when throat muscles relax and constrict the airway
during sleep.
But research presented in July at the
Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London found a connection
between obstructive sleep apnea and buildup of amyloid and tau proteins
in the brain.
Researchers looked at 1,639 adults in
their mid-70s who either were normal cognitively or had mild cognitive decline.
The research found an association between obstructive sleep apnea and an
accelerated increase of amyloid and tau deposits in both normal and cognitively
impaired adults.
Bendlin stresses that much remains to
be discovered about the link between sleep and dementia.
“Not everyone who experiences sleep
problems should now worry about developing dementia due to Alzheimer’s
disease,” she said, adding that therecnn & is not yet a clear cause and
effect relationship.
“Animal studies suggest sleep affects
development of brain changes, but brain changes in turn also affect sleep,”
Bendlin said. “In terms of figuring out which comes first, brain changes or
sleep problems, that will be difficult to tease apart, because the effects
really do appear to be going in both
directions.”
“In experimental studies, there does
seems to be evidence of both chicken and egg,” said neuroscientist Jeffrey
Iliff of Oregon Health and Sciences University. “You can drive it either
direction. So there may be a bio-directional
interaction.”
That’s good news if true, he said,
because it means we have may have some control over whether we develop
dementia.
“No, the public can’t remove amyloid
plaque,” Iliff said. “But if sleep disruption is promoting this process, then
improving sleep is half of the solution to slowing the process of dementia as
it develops over
one’s life.”
Keith Fargo, director of scientific
programs and outreach for the Alzheimer’s Association, agreed: “There may be an
opportunity to improve cognition and possibly reduce dementia risk through
early diagnosis and effective treatment of sleep
disorders.”
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