How much sleep you got the night before is often a topic of conversation if you and your friends are over 50 and, of course, if you are much younger and there is an infant living with you. You are not alone. The National Sleep Foundation reports that one half of older adults have at least one symptom of insomnia. Whether you are up because you have to go to the bathroom, which happens more frequently as you age, or something is bothering you about your adult children or at the office, interrupted sleep decreases your sleep quality and increases daytime sleepiness.

Interestingly, sleep has only come into its own as an active process necessary for good health since well into the twentieth century. That is when the key discoveries about the neurological and physiological activity associated with sleep debunked this long held perspective that sleep is passive.  Once science and medicine realized that sleep was not passive it opened a new era in sleep research.

Sleep is now characterized as a dynamic state controlled by specific and complex mechanisms. Even with all these advancements there is still no clear consensus about why sleep is necessary. One theory is that sleep allows the body time to repair itself on the cellular level. Other theories focus on what happens when people are sleep deprived. The fact is sleep loss affects how we think, our mood, hormone balance, and our immune system.

Here are a couple of changes you can make to improve your sleep.

  • First use your bed and bedroom only for sleep and sex.
  • Take relaxation training classes to help reduce tension and give you techniques for relaxing your muscles.
  • Avoid caffeine at least 3 or 4 hours before bed.
  • Avoid alcohol late in the evening because it increases waking later in the night.

Share your suggestions for good sleep.  We’ll make a list and pass them on.

To your healthy aging.

Ruthan