Need for less sleep as we get older is a “myth”

The Times last week carried an interesting story claiming that the popular notion that we need less sleep as we get older is a myth.

According to research, while older people tend to sleep for fewer hours than they did when they were younger, this apparently has a negative effect on the brain’s performance and they would benefit from getting more.

Sean Drummond, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Diego, said that older people are more likely to suffer from broken sleep, while younger people are better at sleeping efficiently straight through the night. More sleep in old age, however, is associated with better health, and most older people would feel better and more alert if they slept for longer periods.

He said “It’s definitely a myth that older people need less sleep. The more healthy an older adult is, the more they sleep like they did when they were younger. Our data suggests that older adults would benefit from continuing to get as much sleep as they did in their 30s. That’s different from person to person, but the amount of sleep we had at 35 is probably the same amount we need at 75”

The absolute number of hours spent asleep matters more for older people, while for younger people sleep quality is more important, Dr Drummond said. “If you were to fall asleep, never wake up until the alarm goes off and then jump out of bed, you have 100 per cent sleep efficiency. In older adults that happens less and less frequently. The most common characteristic of sleep as we age is that you wake up in the middle of the night.

“There’s data to suggest that what breaks down as we age is not the need to sleep but the ability to sleep in a solid chunk. As we age the strength of our circadian rhythms breaks down. It’s harder to be awake during the day and to be asleep at night.”

To read the article in full: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/living/article7035842.ece