{"id":5395,"date":"2022-03-15T21:16:01","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T21:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comfortkeepers.ca\/calgary\/blog\/battling-sleep-changes-as-we-age\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T18:34:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T18:34:03","slug":"battling-sleep-changes-as-we-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comfortkeepers.ca\/calgary\/blog\/battling-sleep-changes-as-we-age\/","title":{"rendered":"Battling Sleep Changes As We Age"},"content":{"rendered":"

Battling Sleep Changes As We Age<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Battling Sleep Changes As We Age | <\/strong>As we age, we often experience normal changes in our sleeping patterns.\u00a0 But disturbed sleep, waking up tired every day, and other symptoms of insomnia are not<\/em> a normal part of aging. Why does sleep change as we age and what is normal?<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s important for caregivers to understand<\/strong><\/em> that even the healthiest seniors find that their sleep habits change.\u00a0 At any age, insomnia is the most common sleep complaint, but for adults over the age of 65 even more so. \u00a0In fact, one out of every four senior adults reports symptoms of poor sleep.\u00a0 And while a good many seniors may feel like insomniacs, some of the symptoms that they experience are because in reality, as we age we don\u2019t \u2018sleep like we used to.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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What are some of the normal sleep changes that seniors experience?<\/h3>\n

For one, aging adults feel sleepy earlier in the evening and wake up earlier in the morning.\u00a0 Changes in our circadian rhythm, the internal body clock that regulates sleep and waking, are responsible for this change in sleep pattern called advanced sleep phase syndrome.\u00a0 Also quite normally, the older we get the more likely we are to become \u2018light sleepers.\u2019\u00a0 Physiologically, our aging bodies produce lower levels of the growth hormone melatonin which is the cause for a decrease in deep sleep.\u00a0 Not only do we spend less time in deeper sleep cycles, but we spend less time sleeping on the whole \u2013 about half an hour less on average.\u00a0 Healthy older people tend to awake during the night, too, so that on any given night, an older person sleeps 15 percent less than someone younger.\u00a0 And it generally takes longer for seniors to fall asleep.<\/p>\n

Regardless, sleeping well is especially important for the physical, emotional and mental wellbeing of your senior loved one.\u00a0 Caregivers of seniors should know that while changes such as these take some getting used to, they don\u2019t mean that your senior should spend the night tossing and turning and not getting a good night\u2019s sleep.\u00a0 So how do increase his or her chances of getting a good night\u2019s sleep when these normal changes are impacting the senior in your care?<\/p>\n

Related Article: Seniors and Sleep: How Much Sleep Do They Need?<\/a><\/h3>\n

Most cases of so called insomnia in elderly people can be remedied with some common sense solutions.\u00a0 If your senior\u2019s sleep issues are not the result of more serious health conditions such as sleep apnea, RLS (restless leg syndrome), depression, heartburn, arthritis or the side effects of various medications that he or she may take — all which require intervention of a medical professional for treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A few helpful sleep tips to follow | Battling Sleep Changes As We Age:<\/h3>\n