Sleep Needs May Decline With Age

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"The older patients did take longer to fall asleep than younger people," she noted. "And it could also be the case that they have an unrecognized sleep disorder interfering with their restful sleep at night. But we just can't tell yet whether it's a question of inability to sleep or capacity to sleep."

Yet, even as Klerman and her colleagues continue their efforts to unravel the mystery, Dr. Gregg Jacobs, a sleep specialist with the Sleep Disorders Center at University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, is already describing the study as "the best I've seen to date on the physiology of older people's sleep."

"This study addresses a real need, because most of the research on sleep debt is focused on college students, but most people with sleep issues are middle-aged and older adults," he observed. "And, in terms of older people, this study seems to indicate that our drive for sleep goes down as we age."

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"Part of it is that older people don't expend as much energy as younger adults," Jacobs said. "And also, older people tend to nap more and tend to spread their sleep out more over the course of a 24-hour period. So, maybe they just don't need as much sleep at night."

"So, the idea that we need eight hours of sleep at night may be more relevant to younger people," he added. "And if so, we shouldn't automatically be telling older people to take sleeping pills or seek medical attention if they're sleeping less than eight hours. Because getting less may be the natural consequence of aging."

More information

For details on sleep and the aging, visit the U.S. National Institute on Aging.

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