Do We Actually Need Less Sleep As We Age?

Getting quality sleep is crucial to maintaining good health. But is it true that we can actually function well on less sleep as we get older? Chatelaine asked two experts how our sleep needs fluctuate throughout our lives, and how we can keep catching quality Zs regardless of age.

Do you need less sleep as you get older?

The popular belief is true: While getting larger amounts of sleep is certainly important for most of one’s early years, sleeping less as you get older is completely normal and healthy. According to our experts, most adults aged 26 to 64 need about seven to nine hours of sleep every night. But once you hit 65 years old, that number decreases to just seven to eight hours a night, and steadily goes down by one hour every 10 years past 65, depending on your health and level of activity.

Dr. Arina Bingeliene, a Toronto-based sleep neurologist, says there are a number of reasons older adults require less sleep. “The metabolism slows down and [older] are no longer developing and growing,” she says. “We’re not creating new neuron connections in our brain, but functioning on less available neurons instead because of the normal aging process. All of this requires less energy over time, which is why we need less sleep.”

That’s why, Bingeliene adds, older adults need less deep, restorative (REM) sleep: Their bodies don’t require these intense and long periods of time to regenerate larger amounts of lost energy.

Is it harder to get good rest as you get older?

Making time to get enough quality sleep can be a struggle at any age. But, according to our experts, this issue persists and sometimes worsens into older adulthood. Issues including age-related health problems like sleep apnea and general daily bodily discomfort are some reasons why sleep-related struggles may arise as we age. In other words, while you may need less sleep as you get older, getting good quality sleep may be where the real difficulty lies.

Related: All The (New) Reasons You Aren’t Sleeping—And How To Fix Them

Alice Gregory, professor of psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London in England and author of Nodding Off: The Science of Sleep from Cradle to Grave, says there also may be an evolutionary reason we have a harder time sleeping as we get older. Throughout history, sleep was a vulnerable time, so one member of a group would normally stay up to guard the others. “The idea is that if we all sleep at different times, someone is always awake and able to watch over the group,” she says. “Older adults take on this role early in the morning for example.”

Tips for getting a better night’s sleep

Bingeliene and Gregory agree that getting proper rest, both in quality and quantity, is one of the greatest keys to living a long, healthy life.

In addition to adhering to the usual best sleep practices, such as not eating a lot right before bed and sleeping in a dark room, both of our experts also say that maintaining a consistent sleep schedule is critical to getting the best night’s rest possible. “Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day helps to support our internal rhythms,” says Gregory.

Related: These Deeply Relaxing Videos Have Radically Improved My Sleep

Bingeliene recommends creating as relaxing of an environment as possible before going to bed—which involves not using your computer or phone for at least half an hour before you fall asleep. “There’s the stimulating effect from the bright screens but then there’s also the stimulation from the content,” she says. Bingeliene especially stresses the importance of not doing anything work-related before bed as it puts your brain into “working mode” and will make it harder for you to get good rest.

Last but not least, both of our experts stress that naps are to be avoided as much as possible. “Naps offer many advantages,” says Gregory, “but if you are struggling to sleep at night, you might consider avoiding daytime naps, which can make it even more difficult to nod off at night.”