When Does Sleep Start to Decline?
Many factors can prevent enough good quality sleep at any age, including caffeine or alcohol immediately before bed, using some medications that might interfere with sleep, and poor sleep hygiene. Fortunately, like with wrinkles or grey hair, changes in sleep are normal for ageing.
Years at Which Sleep Drops Off
Good health and happiness at any age depend on enough sleep. But your sleep patterns and degree of deep sleep (N3), when your body is most rejuvenated, change during your lifetime. Recent research indicates that sleep patterns rapidly decline in those in their 20s and 30s, level until their early 50s, and then start to decline once more. Men and women across all countries and educational levels followed the same trend; the recently identified important times points of age 33 when the drop reaches its maximum and 53 when sleep starts to rise once again. Many of the same elements that could disrupt sleep in younger people also often impact older adults, including stress, heart illness, and side effects from drugs. Still, most healthy people can accommodate these age-related changes in sleep habits.
children
Children must sleep if they are to be in excellent physical and mental health. Children who sleep poorly may have trouble focussing, become agitated and depressed, and have compromised immune systems which increases their susceptibility to flu and colds. Studies show that poor sleep may impede children's cognitive development, which may cause inattention and poor academic performance. Reducing growth hormone secretion could potentially cause delayed physical development. Early toddlers and babies are quite likely to be in the slow-wave (N3) non-dreaming stage of sleep. As one ages, this level of sleep reduces. The fraction of REM sleep among all the sleep increases. N3 sleep has been related to lower levels of leptin, which makes the body feel full, and higher levels of ghrelin, which fuels hunger.
Years of Teenage Development
The physiological events causing the decline in teenage sleep have major psychological, physical, and behavioural consequences. Teenage sleep problems are hardly discussed, though. Because of their changed circadian rhythms brought on by puberty, experts once believed that teenagers go to bed later and sleep less hours at night than younger children. But outside factors—such as social events, academic pressure, homework, evening employment, internet and television use—also clearly influence things. Teenagers are more prone to have negative pre-sleep thoughts the larger the space between their bedtime and the beginning of sleep. This starts a vicious cycle whereby sleep deprivation aggravates depression and thereby makes it more difficult to get enough sleep.
Growth
Getting a good night's sleep is still very important in adulthood. People's ability to nod off rapidly, sleep through the night, and get up in the morning may also fade as they become older, though. People wake up more often, sleep for shorter lengths of time without deep brain waves, and produce less growth hormone throughout the mid-to-late adult years. After a period of interruption from anything like travel or jet lag, their circadian rhythms often go ahead and they may find it difficult to return to their usual sleeping pattern. For those in great health, however, most age-related sleep changes stabilise after the age of sixty. These include a decrease in general sleep, an increase in the frequency and length of nightly awakenings, and a slowing of slow wave NREM sleep.
Senior Individuals
For elderly people especially, sleep problems might be more harmful than for younger ones. Lack of sleep has been connected to many health issues including depression, cognitive problems, more daytime tiredness, and falls risk. Family carers of elderly loved ones should realise that insomnia is not a normal feature of ageing. If your elderly relative finds trouble falling asleep or waking up regularly during the night, schedule a visit with their general practitioner. This can help the doctor rule out any medical conditions—such as diabetes, heartburn, or an enlarged prostate—that might be keeping your senior relative from sleeping through the night. Researchers have discovered that very disturbed sleep could possibly be a first sign of dementia. They found that those who suffered the worst sleep problems also underwent the most cognitive decline even after considering their degree of physical activity and other factors.
