Sleep is one of the great mysteries of life. It’s likely we know more about the moon and the atom than we do about why we sleep. That may change someday, but for now we simply have to accept sleep as a part of life, and go by what the science tells us when it comes to how much sleep we need.

So that is what we’re going to do here. We’re going to take a close look at the question: “How much sleep do you need?”, and break it down by age. Then we’ll look at some of the dangers of not getting enough sleep. Followed by some ways you can determine how much sleep you need. And we’ll conclude by examining why it is that seniors need less sleep, but are often sleep deprived anyway.

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

Here are the different amounts of sleep recommended for different age groups as determined by the National Sleep Foundation (1).

Remember, these are “best case scenario” numbers. Unfortunately, they do not reflect reality. According to the CDC, a full one-third of adult Americans are getting less than the minimum recommended 7 hours of sleep per night. That’s some 85 million adult Americans who are sleep-deprived. The causes of that sleep deprivation are many and varied. For some, it’s work-related. For others, it’s a matter of not maintaining an environment that’s conducive to sleep. And for others, not sleeping enough has just become habit. But whatever the reasons, sleep deprivation is a serious health threat.

The Dangers of Not Getting Enough Sleep

Not getting enough sleep is more than just an inconvenience or something to laugh about with your co-workers. It’s a clear and present danger to both short and long-term health. Here are some of the health problems that can and do result from not getting enough sleep.

Cognitive impairment – Scientists are beginning to believe that sleep has more to do with maintaining brain health than anything else. Sleep deprivation causes forgetfulness, short term memory loss, confusion (2) and, over the long-term, may contribute to Alzheimer’s (3).

Fatigue – It’s no secret that not sleeping enough causes fatigue. But it’s amazing how many people are willing to just live with it. Fatigue is more than just annoying, it raises the risk of accidents and undermines physical and mental performance.

Emotional issues – When people don’t sleep enough they get moody, irritable, and impatient. These emotional disturbances can undermine personal and professional relationships. Also, insomnia is closely associated with clinical depression (4).

Weight gain – When people don’t sleep enough their body tends to produce more of the hunger hormone ghrelin. This causes them to eat more, which, in turn, causes unwanted weight gain (5) that brings with it a slew of other problems.

Heart disease – While the primary function of sleep may be to enable cognitive health, there is little doubt muscles, especially the heart, benefit as well. Research indicates that not getting enough sleep can, over the long-term, lead to heart disease (6).

Diabetes – There seems to be a direct link between not sleeping enough and the development of type 2 diabetes (7). Why this is so remains something of a mystery, but it may be related to weight gain often associated with chronic sleeplessness.

Reduced immune function – People who don’t sleep enough don’t produce as many white blood cells as those who regularly get enough sleep. This leads to a compromised immune system (8) and a reduced ability to fight off bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi.

Hypertension – Chronic sleeplessness increases the production of stress hormones that, in turn, increase the likelihood of developing high blood pressure, or hypertension.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of the potential health problems that can result from not getting enough sleep. But hopefully it is sufficient to drive home the point that sleep is important.

The Sleep Deficit

Most sleep researchers believe the average adult should get 7-9 hours of sleep per day, but many people are not getting anything close to that. This sleep deficit is causing all kinds of health problems among the population, most of which are preventable. In order to ensure your own long-term health and wellbeing, it’s important to know if you are one of the tens of millions of sleep deprived Americans. So let’s look at some ways you can do that.

How to Determine The Amount of Sleep You Need

Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep, give or take. But how can you determine if you are one of the people who only needs 7 hours, or if you would be better off getting 9 hours? Here are a few ways.

Take notes – One of the best ways to determine if you’re getting the sleep you need is to keep a sleep diary. Write down when you go to sleep, when you wake up, whether or not you fell asleep quickly, how often you woke up during the night (if you did) and for how long, and any naps you take during the day. This will provide you with the total number of hours you are sleeping. Also write down how you feel when you wake up in the morning (refreshed or tired) and whether you’re having a hard time staying awake during the day.

Be mindful – When people fall asleep on the train or have episodes of microsleep (9) while they’re working at the computer they tend to shrug it off. Don’t. Be aware of how you feel during the day. Dozing off in the lunch room or needing a second or third cup of coffee may well be signs that you’re not getting enough sleep. Don’t ignore them.

Ditch the alarm – A good way to find out how much sleep your body wants is to ditch the alarm for a while. This is easier said than done for many people who need to be at work at a specific time. But if you are one of the lucky ones who has some leeway in your schedule and can sleep in without it causing problems, don’t use an alarm for several days in a row and see how long you sleep. If you were sleeping 6 hours with the alarm but are sleeping 8+ hours without an alarm 8 1/2 is a more accurate indicator of how much sleep you really need.

Okay, you did all of the above and determined you should be getting another 1 1/2 to 2 hours of sleep per night. You also now know what it feels like to be properly rested. Great! But knowledge without action isn’t going to produce any benefits. So now you need to find a way to carve that extra sleep time out of your regular schedule. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

Some Tips to Help You Sleep Better

On the other hand, if you have reason to believe you need more sleep, but are not able to take a vacation from the alarm, you can try making adjustments to your lifestyle that promote sleep rather than discourage it. The following are a few things you can try:

Go to bed without your smartphone – If you’re like a lot of people you take your phone to bed with you. It could be that blue light from the phone is making it tough for you to fall asleep. So don’t take it into bed with you.

Avoiding coffee late in the day – Often times people find it hard to get to sleep because they drink coffee at all hours of the day. If you are a coffee fan stop drinking it after dinner.

Exercise – Research confirms what people who exercise have long known: if you exercise regularly you sleep better (10).

Nix the naps – If you want to sleep longer and better at night stop sleeping during the day.

Change your mattress – If you sleep 8 hours and still feel tired and sluggish when you get up it may well be that you need a new mattress.

Take a hot shower – If you are having trouble falling asleep try taking a hot shower or bath before you lay down.

Adjust the room temperature – The optimal temp for sleeping is between 60-67 Fahrenheit. If you can’t sleep it might be that your room is too hot or too cold.

Drink some warm milk – Whole milk contains tryptophan (11) which promotes melatonin production. Melatonin, in turn, promotes sleep.

Watch what you eat – Don’t eat a big meal before laying down. And if you must have a midnight snack, make it a piece of fruit, and not a piece of chocolate cake or all the leftover potato salad.

Don’t lie in bed awake – If you can’t get to sleep in 20-30 minutes don’t lie there getting increasingly stressed out. Instead, get up and move around and do something to take your mind off the situation. Read a book. Or make a cup of chamomile tea and sip on it while making a grocery list.

If you are having a hard time getting to sleep or staying asleep, one or more of the above tips should help alleviate the problem. If you still cannot find relief it may be time to visit a sleep specialist, because you do not want insomnia to become a chronic situation.

Do the Elderly Really Need Less Sleep?

As we mentioned earlier the recommendations from the National Sleep Foundation clearly indicate that people need progressively less sleep as they get older. This seems counterintuitive since it would seem to make sense that the elderly would tire more easily than young adults.

But let’s assume that the good folks at the National Sleep Foundation are correct and senior citizens don’t need as much sleep as younger adults and kids. If we accept that notion, then it begs the question: “Why do senior citizens often seem so tired so much of the time?”

The Problems Facing Seniors With Regard to Sleep

As it turns out seniors suffer from the same problem many younger adults suffer from; difficulty getting to sleep and staying asleep. Only with seniors, the problem is even more acute. Studies indicate that a disproportionate number of people over 65 take more than half an hour to fall asleep. When they do finally fall asleep they tend to sleep less deeply. They also tend to wake up more often during the night and have a hard time falling back to sleep after they wake up.

Health Complications and Their Impact on Sleep

Older adults need less sleep, but due to a number of factors, they are often unable to get even the minimum amount they need to feel fresh and energetic. One of the most common reasons for this is that they tend to suffer from more disruptive health conditions than younger adults. Conditions such as:

Enlarged prostate – 25% of men over 55 and 50% of men over 65 suffer from an enlarged prostate (12). The enlarged prostate puts pressure on the bladder requiring these men to have to get up and relieve themselves every couple of hours.

Reduced melatonin production – As people get older they begin to produce less and less melatonin. That’s not good considering the hormone melatonin is vital for maintaining a proper wake/sleep cycle.

Medications – Seniors typically take more different types of medication than younger adults and some of these – including antidepressants, medicines used to treat hypertension and nasal decongestants used to relieve seasonal allergies – can cause them to lose sleep.

Alzheimer’s – As if Alzheimer’s Disease was not vexing enough, it often produces insomnia and/or leads to night walks (13) and other distressing phenomena. This inability to sleep is thought to hasten the development of the disease.

Chronic pain – Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that can make it virtually impossible to get a good night’s sleep. Many seniors find themselves beset by chronic pain as a result of injuries related to falls, cancer and cancer treatment, and other causes.

Depression – Seniors and loss go hand in hand, unfortunately. As the loss of loved ones and friends pile up the older adult feels more and more isolated. It’s not uncommon for them to slip into depression and to experience frequent bouts of depression-related insomnia.

Diabetes – Diabetics often suffer from a rash of spin-off health problems that can interfere with sleep including, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, more frequent urination and general pain and discomfort.

Emphysema and other respiratory conditions – Older Americans today grew up in a time when smoking was accepted just about everywhere, including on airplanes and in hospitals. As a result, many are now shackled with respiratory problems such as emphysema that can make sleeping difficult (14).

Caffeine – American’s love affair with all things caffeine is not limited to younger adults. Older adults also enjoy an espresso after dinner, or a cup of coffee in the evening when socializing. As a result, many find themselves lying awake at night staring at the clock on the nightstand.

There is a common belief that sleep difficulties are just an unavoidable part of getting older. But the truth is that sleep issues in older adults – as is also the case with younger adults – are usually more a side effect of some underlying health problem, rather than the result of pages flipping on the calendar. Many, many seniors who are not beset by health problems have no problem getting the 7 or 8 hours of restful sleep they need.

Can Medication Help Older Adults Get the Sleep They Need?

Medications are sometimes the cause of sleeplessness in older adults and so doctors have to be very careful when deciding whether to prescribe yet more medication in order to induce sleep. Most health professionals prefer non-pharmaceutical paths to achieving the right amount of sleep, such as those we laid out in the “Tips to Help You Sleep Better” section above.

Still, there may be situations where a prescription sleep aid is the only viable option. If your doctor has prescribed something like benzodiazepine (15) to help you sleep, be sure to take it only as directed, as the potential for addiction and abuse is very high with such drugs.

Conclusion

Humans need progressively less sleep as they get older, to the point where seniors typically only need about half the sleep newborns do. Unfortunately, a growing number of adults are not getting the 7-9 hours of sleep most of them need every night, instead settling for an average of about 6 1/2 hours. This sleep deficit can create numerous short and long-term health issues from common fatigue to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, depression and dementia, just to name a few.

If you are having trouble getting enough of the restful, rejuvenating sleep you need, the tips provided above may help you find relief. If your problem is related to a health condition, consult with your doctor before you make any significant changes to your lifestyle.