Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Researcher Offers Tips for Better Sleep
Uncategorized

Researcher Offers Tips for Better Sleep

By medwebSep 1, 2004
Share
Facebook Twitter Email

September 14, 2004

Researcher Offers Tips for Better Sleep

CHICAGO—The 2003 Sleep in America poll by the National Sleep Foundation found that 67 percent of older Americans report trouble sleeping.

Sleep for people over 55 often involves waking up several times during the night, not being able to get back to sleep and waking up earlier than desired in the morning. Sleep recordings show that the sleep of older adults is shallower than that in younger adults, with less deep (slow-wave) sleep and frequent awakenings during the night.

There are important consequences of disordered sleep in older adults, according to Susan Benloucif, PhD, research associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

“Disrupted or unrefreshing sleep frequently leads to fatigue and can have a negative effect on the way you feel, social interactions, job performance, and other important areas of daytime functioning,” Dr. Benloucif said.

Older adults usually get less sleep than younger adults; however, it is not clear whether the need for sleep diminishes or simply the ability to sustain sleep declines. Recent research suggests that medical illnesses, or the treatments for those illnesses, are more likely at fault than age itself.

The need to urinate is the most common sleep disrupter in late life. The NSF poll reported that nearly two in three adults get up to use the bathroom at least a few nights a week.

Specific sleep disorders, such as restless leg syndrome, periodic limb movements in sleep, and sleep apnea or sleep-disordered breathing, also are more common with increasing age.

In addition, the biological clock, the internal timekeeper, is set earlier in many older adults than in younger adults, Dr. Benloucif explained. This causes an increased tendency to fall asleep earlier and awaken earlier.

The biological clock, which uses light and other natural signals to help keep the right time, needs around two hours of daylight-intensity light exposure a day for stable rhythms, but older adults average only 45 minutes of bright light exposure each day.

In addition, physically fit individuals sleep better than those who do not exercise regularly. But many older adults do not participate in as much physical activity as younger adults.

What can you do to improve your sleep? First, said Dr. Benloucif, don’t accept the notion that disrupted sleep is normal as you get older.

The NSF poll found that only one in eight people with disordered sleep had been diagnosed by a physician.

Discuss your sleeping problems with your physician, and, if needed, schedule a visit with a sleep specialist to rule out specific sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or restless legs/periodic movements in sleep.

Second, maintain proper sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene recommendations include:

•Sleep in a familiar bedroom that is kept dark, quiet and at a comfortable temperature during the night.

•Use a bedtime ritual, such as reading before lights-out.

•Avoid strenuous exercise after 7 p.m.

•Do not eat or drink heavily for three hours before bedtime, and if you have trouble with regurgitation, avoid heavy meals and spices in the evening.

•Limit caffeine use after 10 a.m., avoid alcoholic beverages and smoking after 7 p.m., or give up smoking entirely.

•Drink a warm non-caffeinated drink to help you relax and warm you.

•Limit exposure to light if you have to get up at night, but get at least 30 minutes of exposure to sunlight during the day. Exposure to artificial bright light between 7 and 9 p.m. via a home light box can promote evening alertness.

•Avoid naps, except for a brief nap in the afternoon.

•Get regular exercise each day, preferably 40 minutes each day of an activity that causes sweating.

For more information on current research on sleep and aging, contact the Circadian Rhythm and Sleep Research Laboratory at Northwestern University at 312/908-1024.

Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Lurie Cancer Center Receives Merit Extension from NCI

Oct 20, 2021

Drug Combination May Reduce Risk of Leukemia Relapse

Mar 26, 2020

Rewriting the Role of a Transcription Factor

Mar 19, 2020

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Fathers’ Presence During Childhood Predicts Adult Testosterone Levels

Jun 29, 2022

Epigenetic Biomarkers Predict CVD Risk

Jun 28, 2022

Student Spearheads Ukraine Aid Efforts

Jun 27, 2022

Hospitals Bound to Patient Safety Rules that Aren’t all Backed by Evidence

Jun 24, 2022

Identifying Protein Interactions that Promote Cancer Growth

Jun 24, 2022
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20220617_NM_0434
20220617_NM_0858
20220617_NM_0643
20220617_NM_0835
20220617_NM_0544
20220617_NM_0450
20220617_NM_0790
20220617_NM_0811
20220617_NM_0851
20220617_NM_0696
20220617_NM_0779
20220617_NM_0838

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.