Older jellies: do you find you need less sleep as you get older?
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Jeruba (
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April 1st, 2019
For the purposes of this question, let’s define “older” as 55+, or eligible for a retirement community.
If you’re not “older,” you’re welcome to answer, but please note that in your post.
Question: Do you need less sleep than you used to?
I’ve always heard that people need less sleep as they get older, but it isn’t true for me.
I know it doesn’t actually work this way, but I feel like I’m still making up for decades of chronic sleep deprivation while I was working. If anything, now that I’m retired, I want more sleep, not less. And sometimes I do manage to get it.
Have your sleep needs changed with age, and if so, how?
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11 Answers
Yes. But I’m also not busting my ass 24/7 with kids either.
Every thing has slowed down, including how much food I can eat.
No, I always get 8 hours sleep,regardless of age and had always did so in my younger years too.
Everyone differs in the amount of sleep that the body needs to function.
I find that 8 hours of sleep is much like a battery charger for my body.
Sometime sleep problems could be caused from “Lupus disease ” or other diseases.
Lupus makes the person weak and therefore they require frequent “naps”.
Keeping busy and fresh outdoors helps a lot in aiding a comfortable deep sleep.
I am over age 55 plus and retired.
I don’t know if I need less sleep, but I sometimes think I don’t sleep as well as I once did.
I’m 53. I used to need at least 8 hours. Now I can do ok on four or five hours. I may fall asleep early the following night, or I may still be up till midnight the following night and be ok the next day.
I usually go to sleep around midnight and wake up at 5 or 6. I try not to drink anything much after around 9 pm so I don’t have to get up in the middle of the night. If I get up in the middle of the night, I may be awake for three hours, and then, when I’m supposed to be waking up I’m falling back to sleep instead. It really screws me up.
If I get my 5 or 6 hours, I wake up and think to myself “that was good!”
I seem to need more sleep if anything. If I go to bed around 11 and sleep til 8, sometimes waking a few times, I’m good. Some nights I can’t fall asleep or wake in the middle of the night with anxiety.
All I know is that I don’t get enough sleep. My insomnia started the minute the peri-menopause kicked in.
I’m 68 now and get around 7 hours of sleep per night. But feel like I need more. I’m very active in a competitive sport. I train pretty hard daily.
My sleep habits haven’t changed much in the last 25 years. I have to get up every 1 to 2 hours to pee and or shake out my right arm (it goes numb from chronic nerve and tendon repetitive stress injury). I have no problem falling back to sleep right away. But I’m back up and heading for the toilet in an hour or two.
I still need around eight hours sleep each night and that hasn’t changed. I sometimes waken in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep. That never used to happen.
Less most of the time, but if I am a bit sick or I get hurt I need much more than usual to heal. It’s a bit disconcerting. I go along, doing fine on about 7 hours, then I get hurt or sick, and BAM, I need 10.
When I was in college I memorized what 8 hours from midnight, 1 am, 2 am, 3am etc, was and tried to make sure it was doable…..
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