Why does the quality of sleep worsen with age?

Q: As I get older, I find it more and more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Because?

A: Abhinav Singh, medical director of the Indiana Center for Sleep Problems and sleep professor at Marian University School of Osteopathic Medicine, prefers to answer this question with an analogy.

Think of our ability to sleep like a machine, she said.

As it gets older and racks up miles, it starts to break down; every time it requires more repairs and their gait becomes less smooth.

The same goes for our sleep, Singh said.

Researchers have found that sleep quality does it deteriorates a little with age; Compared with younger adults, older adults are more likely to take longer to fall asleep, wake up more frequently during the night, and spend more time napping during the day.

Similarly, her deep, restful sleep phase, which helps bone and muscle development and repair, strengthens the immune system, and helps the brain reorganize and consolidate memories, lasts less time, Singh explained.

With age, he added, the balance gets out of balance, too. melatonin levels, They have an important participation in the sleep and wake cycles.

Not surprisingly, then, when researchers studied more than 9,000 people ages 65 and older in a major study published in 1995, they found that 57 percent of them reported at least one sleep-related problem in a period. of three years.

Among these were the Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, waking up too early, feeling tired and napping during the day.

In a different study, published in 2014, scientists found that just over half of the 6,050 seniors studied had one or two of the symptoms of insomnia for the entire last month.

Research reveals that women are generally more likely than men to report poorer sleep quality.

And, according to the National Institute on Aging, sleep starts to fail for them at a young age. first in life, almost always during the transition to menopause (or in the years preceding it), which usually begins between the ages of 45 and 55.

What exactly causes these changes?

The truth is, no one knows for sure.

“We’re just starting to understand why all of this is happening,” said Luis de Lecea, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.

One explanation may have to do with the aging of the brain.

In a study published in February, De Lecea and his team found that a specific group of neurons responsible for wakefulness was overstimulated in old mice, disrupting their sleep cycles.

“This change is also likely to occur in humans,” he said, because the brain region that regulates sleep in mice, called the hypothalamus, resembles that of humans.

(For practical and ethical reasons, many sleep studies are conducted in mice.)

The researchers also found that with aging, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, another brain region that regulates the body’s circadian rhythms, deteriorates in mice.

This results in some sleep disturbances which include problems falling asleep at set times.

Some lifestyle changes can also lead to sleep disturbances later in life, said Adam Spira, a professor and sleep researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

As people retire, their days become less structured and routine.

They may wake up later or take naps during the day, which can make it difficult for them falling asleep at night and making them fall into a vicious circle.

Researchers have also found a relationship between older adults’ sleep problems and depression, loneliness or grief over the loss of a loved one.

Additionally, in a 2014 study, Spira found that older adults who had difficulty performing certain activities or chores, such as doing laundry, grocery shopping, meeting friends, or going for walks, were more likely to have symptoms of insomnia. to those who could carry out these activities.

For women, hot flashes, night sweats and higher rates of depression, anxiety and stress, common symptoms of the menopausal transition, are also related to poor quality sleep.

But researchers still don’t know exactly why these menopause-related symptoms might be more acute and frequent in some women, or how best to address them.

Of course, some medical conditions that are more common in older adults can also wreak havoc with sleep, Singh noted.

For example, being overweight can increase the risk of developing a disease such as sleep apnea, which can create us snoring, gasping for breath, or feeling choked while we sleep.

Medications, such as blood pressure diuretics, can also affect sleep because they can force you to go to the bathroom more often.

They can actually “act like darts on our sleep board,” Singh explained.

Are we destined to live with sleepless nights?

According to Spira, the good news is that the same habits that help improve sleep for everyone in general also work for older adults with variable sleep patterns.

According to research, going to sleep and waking up at the same times every day, avoiding naps, not drinking caffeine late, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly help you sleep well.

In fact, a small study published in 2022 found that at least 40 minutes of aerobic or resistance training four times a week helped older adults fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

Singh claimed the fact eat at the same time Every day can also help maintain a routine which, in turn, can help regulate sleep, as can spending time outdoors exposed to the sun’s rays, which helps keep melatonin production and circadian rhythm in check. of the body.

Seniors taking medications should also ask their doctor if those medications might be interfering with their sleep and if there are alternative options or different dosages, she added.

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