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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- As people age, their bodies undergo countless changes -- including a diminishing capacity for sleep.
New research reveals given the same amount of time in bed, healthy older people (age 60 to 72) take longer to fall asleep and sleep for less time than younger people (age 18 to 32). When asked to stay in bed for 16 hours in a dark room, younger people got an average of 9 hours of sleep while older people only slept for an average of 7.5 hours.
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"The most parsimonious explanation for our results is that older people need less sleep," Elizabeth Klerman, M.D., Ph.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital & Harvard Medical School was quoted as saying. "It's also possible that they sleep less even when given the opportunity for more sleep because of age-related changes in the ability to fall asleep and remain asleep."
Dr. Klerman added these results only apply to healthy individuals who aren't taking medications and have no medical conditions or sleep disorders. The study also found that most healthy people, young people in particular, don't get as much sleep as they need.
SOURCE: Current Biology, published online July 24th.
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