Do We Need Less Sleep as We Age?
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Michael Breus, PhD Sleep Specialist
Will I need less sleep when I age? Usually when you hit the age of about 18, 19 years old, your amount of sleep is pretty set, even though many people think that as they get older, they need less sleep. In truth, that's not the case. What we, if you looked at the total minutes of sleep that somebody gets over the course of a day, they take naps, which they don't count towards their sleep, or they may even take unscheduled naps, where they are watching TV during the day because they are not working and they've retired, and all of a sudden, they are out cold. So you have to be somewhat careful, but usually, your amount of sleep is reasonably set, unless you're sleep deprived, all right, so you're going to bed at the wrong time, and getting up at the wrong time, and not getting enough good quality sleep, or there's a medical condition on board that may make you need more sleep. You have to remember is that people who sleep well, heal well. And that's a very important factor that people have to understand, especially in hospital settings, Uh, or even at home, if you're not feeling well, sleep is actually a healing mechanism. And you need to allow your body to have a little extra if it needs it.