Why It's Harder to Sleep As You Age

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow Sleep Changes as You Get OlderCould My Sleep Problems Be Something Else?Maintaining Healthy Sleep Habits As You Get OlderImproving Your Sleep Hygiene at Any AgeWill I Ever Be Able to Sleep Like I Used to?Next in Mind Over Mattress GuideHow Sleep Can Affect Your Longevity

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

How Sleep Changes as You Get Older

Could My Sleep Problems Be Something Else?

Maintaining Healthy Sleep Habits As You Get Older

Improving Your Sleep Hygiene at Any Age

Will I Ever Be Able to Sleep Like I Used to?

Next in Mind Over Mattress Guide

Close

Feeling super restless at night? Maybe you used to be able to sleep ‘til noon on the weekends, but lately, you’ve been waking up at the crack of dawn. Perhaps you used to snooze as soon as your head hit the pillow, but these days it feels impossible to drift off to dreamland.

Read on for more about why sleep changes as we age, how to identify any sleep problems, and how to manage these changes and get the sleep you need.

Most of the sleep changes we notice as we age can be blamed on biology. It’s well known that infants are wired to wake up frequently throughout the night, and need several daytime naps to get through the day. You probably remember being a teenager and having trouble waking up in the morning and going to sleep at a reasonable time at night. As we move through the different stages of life, our sleep changes, and the same is true as we get older.

In fact, studies have found that we tend to lose about 10-20 minutes of total sleep every decade starting from age 20 until about 60.Additionally, the type of sleep we get changes as we age, says Bijoy John, MD, board-certified sleep physician and founder and medical director at Sleep Fix Academy. “The sleep architecture of a 20-year-old is significantly different when compared to a 60-year-old, especially when it comes to deep sleep,” he says.

While adults aged 60 and older need approximately the same number of hours of sleep as younger adults (seven to nine hours a night), many have trouble getting the sleep they need, Dr. John notes. “When they can doze off, they spend more time in lighter stages of sleep,” he says.

The sleep architecture of a 20-year-old is significantly different when compared to a 60-year-old, especially when it comes to deep sleep.—BIJOY JOHN, MD

The sleep architecture of a 20-year-old is significantly different when compared to a 60-year-old, especially when it comes to deep sleep.

—BIJOY JOHN, MD

Although a lot of the sleep variations that occur as we age can be attributed to changes that happen in our bodies, sometimes lifestyle changes have impacts as well. “Older individuals who are retired may have more time to nap during the day and be less active, which subsequently affects sleep at night,” Abhay Sharma, MD, ENT, sleep physician and co-director ofUniversity of South Florida Sleep ENT and Snoring Center. “Changes in health, both physical and mental, also affect sleep as we get older.”

How to Ditch Poor Sleep Hygiene

Although these changes in sleep patterns can be normal as we age, sometimes they are a sign of a sleep disorder or a medical condition that has crept up.

Many of the health conditions that affect middle-aged and older individuals can impact their ability to sleep well, Dr. John says. Some of these conditions include:

It’s also important to consider thatsleep disorderscan impact sleep at any age. “Some common conditions like restless leg syndrome (RLS) andperiodic limb movement disorder (PLMD)also should be ruled out as these conditions can result in difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep,” Dr. John says.Sleep apneais another condition that can impact sleep and that tends to get worse as we age, he says.

Finally, as we get older, we are more likely to experience a condition called advanced sleep phase syndrome (ASPS). “This is a condition where you go to bed early in the evening and wake up in the middle of the night with extreme difficulty going back to sleep,” Dr. John explains. “Lack of routine and exposure to sunlight, loneliness, boredom are all contributing factors.”

‘Why Can’t I Sleep’—Why You’re Not Sleeping and How to Get More Rest

The sleep changes that happen as we get older can be startling and distressing, but you are not powerless here.

It’s important that if you are experiencing symptoms that may be impacting your sleep, that you visit your healthcare provider. These symptoms may include:

If you are experiencing these, or any other concerning symptoms, connect with your healthcare provider to rule out any medical conditions that could be contributing. If it turns out you are healthy, then it’s likely the shifts that happen as we age are impacting your sleep. If so, there are things you can do to maximize sleep.

Dr. Sharma shared his top tips formaximizing sleepas we get older:

Screen time before and during bedtime is something to pay particular attention to as you get older, Dr. Sharma warns. “Though you may have been able to compensate in years prior, our circadian rhythm changes as we age,” Dr. Sharma says. “Specifically, it can be harder for the normal hormonal circuitry of the brain to allow you to fall asleep when the light from a device or television has caused some level of stimulation.” This is why he stresses the importance ofavoiding lights from screensclose to bedtime.

Sleep Quiz: How Well Are You Sleeping?

Dr. Allen recommends keeping these sleep hygiene habits in mind to maximize sleep duration and quality at any age:

Synchronizing Your Biological Clock With a Schedule

Keep in mind that the decrease in total sleep doesn’t happen indefinitely. “The good news is the decline in age-related total sleep time stabilizes at around age 60,” Dr. John says.Furthermore, we can take steps to ensure that the sleep that we do get is the best quality possible. Things like prioritizing our sleep, setting a strict sleep schedule, and avoiding napping, all can help significantly, Dr. John adds.

Dr. Allen assures that although you won’t sleep exactly the same way as you did when you were younger, you can adjust your outlook and habits around sleep, both of which can help. “While sleep in older age might not be the same as in youth, there are many strategies to improvesleep qualityand maintain good health at any age,” he says. “Understanding and accepting that sleep needs and patterns change with age can help manage expectations and reduceanxiety about sleep.”

Understanding and accepting that sleep needs and patterns change with age can help manage expectations and reduce anxiety about sleep.—CHRIS ALLEN, MD

Understanding and accepting that sleep needs and patterns change with age can help manage expectations and reduce anxiety about sleep.

—CHRIS ALLEN, MD

Another thing to keep in mind? Sleep actually might getbetteras you get older, if you are vigilant about your health and sleep hygiene. Having fewer life stressors and responsibilities in older age may help too. “Sleep patterns can go through cycles, and it’s possible for sleep quality to improve with age, particularly if health conditions are managed well,” Dr Allen says.

How Does a Lack of Sleep Affect Your Mental Health?

Bottom Line

Change is never fun, but it’s completely normal for our sleep to change as we get older. This may include needing fewer hours of sleep, waking up more frequently at night, and not being able to sleep as late in the morning as we used to.

It can be jarring at first when we notice these changes, but there are things we can do to adapt, including paying extra attention to sleep hygiene, addressing any medical issues that may contribute, and adjusting our schedules and expectations around sleep.

2-Minute Video Meditation to Drift Off to Sleep

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Li J, Vitiello MV, Gooneratne NS.Sleep in Normal Aging.Sleep Med Clin. 2018;13(1):1-11. doi:10.1016/j.jsmc.2017.09.001Suzuki K, Miyamoto M, Hirata K.Sleep disorders in the elderly: Diagnosis and management.J Gen Fam Med. 2017;18(2):61-71. doi:10.1002/jgf2.27Karna B, Sankari A, Tatikonda G.Sleep Disorder. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.Reid KJ, Chang A, Dubocovich NL, et al.Familial Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome.Arch Neurol. 2001;58(7):1089-1094. doi:10.1001/archneur.58.7.1089National Institute on Aging.A Good Night’s Sleep.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Your Guide to Healthy Sleep.

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Li J, Vitiello MV, Gooneratne NS.Sleep in Normal Aging.Sleep Med Clin. 2018;13(1):1-11. doi:10.1016/j.jsmc.2017.09.001Suzuki K, Miyamoto M, Hirata K.Sleep disorders in the elderly: Diagnosis and management.J Gen Fam Med. 2017;18(2):61-71. doi:10.1002/jgf2.27Karna B, Sankari A, Tatikonda G.Sleep Disorder. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.Reid KJ, Chang A, Dubocovich NL, et al.Familial Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome.Arch Neurol. 2001;58(7):1089-1094. doi:10.1001/archneur.58.7.1089National Institute on Aging.A Good Night’s Sleep.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Your Guide to Healthy Sleep.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Li J, Vitiello MV, Gooneratne NS.Sleep in Normal Aging.Sleep Med Clin. 2018;13(1):1-11. doi:10.1016/j.jsmc.2017.09.001Suzuki K, Miyamoto M, Hirata K.Sleep disorders in the elderly: Diagnosis and management.J Gen Fam Med. 2017;18(2):61-71. doi:10.1002/jgf2.27Karna B, Sankari A, Tatikonda G.Sleep Disorder. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.Reid KJ, Chang A, Dubocovich NL, et al.Familial Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome.Arch Neurol. 2001;58(7):1089-1094. doi:10.1001/archneur.58.7.1089National Institute on Aging.A Good Night’s Sleep.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Your Guide to Healthy Sleep.

Li J, Vitiello MV, Gooneratne NS.Sleep in Normal Aging.Sleep Med Clin. 2018;13(1):1-11. doi:10.1016/j.jsmc.2017.09.001

Suzuki K, Miyamoto M, Hirata K.Sleep disorders in the elderly: Diagnosis and management.J Gen Fam Med. 2017;18(2):61-71. doi:10.1002/jgf2.27

Karna B, Sankari A, Tatikonda G.Sleep Disorder. In:StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024.

Reid KJ, Chang A, Dubocovich NL, et al.Familial Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome.Arch Neurol. 2001;58(7):1089-1094. doi:10.1001/archneur.58.7.1089

National Institute on Aging.A Good Night’s Sleep.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Your Guide to Healthy Sleep.

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?