Sleep is a natural way of restoring your energy. It's a big part of both physical and mental health. Sleep helps your body repair and function properly during the day.
Poor sleep can cause tiredness, difficulty concentrating, and low motivation. It can make you feel less alert and slow down your reaction time. It's important to address these factors to reduce your risk of falling.
Ongoing poor-quality sleep can increase your risk of developing health problems. Poor sleep could mean a higher risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and depression. Studies have shown that poor sleep may lead to increased appetite, weight gain, obesity and metabolic disorders. However, getting good sleep helps you maintain a healthy bodyweight.
How does ageing affect sleep?
As you age, it's normal to experience some changes in your sleeping patterns. For example, some older people might go to bed earlier, wake up earlier, and have less deep sleep.
It's important to know that waking up tired every day isn't a normal symptom of ageing. Only getting a couple hours of sleep each night is not a part of the ageing process either. Being older does increase your risk of developing certain sleep disorders, though. See your doctor to talk about any issues you may be having.
Getting a good night’s sleep helps to improve brain function, allows your body to repair, and refreshes your immune system.
What is a good night's sleep?
A good night’s sleep usually has the following elements:
- Falling asleep within 30 minutes (although this may take longer for older people)
- Sleeping through most of the night with brief awakenings to use the bathroom
- Feeling refreshed within 1 hour of waking up
The amount of sleep we need varies from person to person. As we get older, we tend to need less sleep. To feel refreshed, we need to go through the phases of light sleep, deep sleep, and dreaming sleep each night. People aged 65 and over usually need 7 to 8 hours of sleep.
What might be affecting your sleep?
Difficulty sleeping is a very common issue that many people face. Often, it's a temporary problem that resolves itself within a few days. However, it can become a lasting issue, which could interfere with daily living, activities, and quality of life.
