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Sleep and Aging

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The effect of time on our lives is a fact with which we must all eventually deal. Hopefully, there is no 'good' or 'bad' judgment, but recognition of the inevitable…our bodies change. Understanding the normal progression of the aging process on our bodies can help us make a smoother transition into the different phases of our lives. In knowing what to expect, we do not have to 'fight' the process. Instead, we can learn to work with the changes in a more appropriate manner. We can actually learn to relax into our changing seasons!

"Does sleep change as we age?"

This seems to be one of the main questions most people ask; and rightfully so, because people do notice a difference in quality and quantity of sleep as they age. Some folks tend to think we need more sleep as we get older, but this doesn't seem to be the case. .

During the earlier, pre-adult years of our lives, there is a change in both quality and quantity as we age into adulthood. In fact, studies seem to show we need about the same amount of sleep through most of our adult lives. Having said that, it is important to note what changes is the quality of our sleep in our adult years, which happens for a variety of reasons at each different phase.

You might be an expecting mother (if so, congratulations!), a spunky adolescent, someone hitting his or her early or mid thirties, or someone in or shifting into your golden years. Depending on where (or when) you are in your life, you probably will be interested in a particular phase more than another. You should be able to find that for which you are looking in the following sections.

Sleep Changes: Phases of Life

1. In the Womb
2. Newborns
3. Tots to Teens
4. Teens
5. Mid-Adult Years
6. Golden Years

It is important to note, you shouldn't worry if your child still has two naps vs. one, sleeps one hour longer or shorter than the average, or is on either side of the period of sleep and ages described herein. Remember, these are simply averages!

If you are concerned about any aspect of you or your child's sleep, do some more research or ask you pediatrician or health care professional for more information. Of course, this is always sound advice for any specific or general health concerns for you and your loved ones.

Being a knowledgeable parent in regards to your child's development, at all phases of development, will help every step of the way! This is something about which we have no doubt. It can make the job of being a parent a lot easier and improve the chances of you own child developing in a healthy and happy way!

In the Womb

Amazingly, babies well along in their development in the mothers' wombs sleep about 16 to 20 hours a day. Now, some mother's might be saying, "Ya, well sure doesn't feel like my baby is sleeping…feel my side!". It's true…the baby is very active and Mom can feel the baby moving quite often. In fact, the baby can be felt moving up to 50 times an hour at certain phases of development.

"So, if the baby is asleep that often,
then why do I feel so much movement?"

This is a valid question. As we sleep the body has a mechanism that keeps us from acting out what we dream. Through this reasoning, we might think that if a baby were asleep, then Mom wouldn't feel so much movement. But, a baby's brain at the early to mid-range developmental stages has yet to develop this ability, so the child's dream phases can actually be 'acted' out, hence the mother can feel the baby as it dreams.

Now, you might be wondering more about babies and dreaming at this point. It is actually posited that babies do dream in their mothers' wombs. This can be measured by a certain type of brainwave activity and certain type of sleep, called REM sleep. When seen in adults, this type of sleep is highly correlated to dreaming. Scientist can actually measure brainwave activity of a child in it's mother's womb. Amazing, isn't it? So, taking what the we do know of brainwave activity and sleep in adults, information is extrapolated and used to study infants in the womb. This is a large topic and not covered here, but if you are interested, a local university or medical school library should have a tremendous amount of information waiting for you to discover. The world of sleep is quite fascinating, and we hope this might spark interest in further study of such an amazing topic.

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Newborns

Newborn babies sleep on average 16½ hours per day. Although it seems sleep patterns are totally random, this is not the case. There are cycles of wakefulness and sleep seen in the baby as it develops, and the child extends the cycle by about 10 minutes each day. This equals out to about a 1-hour difference each week. So, there are longer periods of wakefulness and sleep as time passes.

Knowing this can help a parent realize the changes of her or his baby and have a clear expectation on when they will begin to gradually get back to their own natural sleep cycle, which is something quite nice for parents!

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Tots to Teens

At about 6 months, the baby now sleeps about 14 hours a day. For the next year of development, the child moves toward a day time wakefulness and night time sleeping pattern with 1 to 2 naps during the day. At around 18 months, you will see the child begins to take only one nap.

The naps disappear on the whole and the sleeping periods lower to about 11 hours a night by age 6. By 10 years of age, the nighttime sleep period average is about 10 hours up until he or she reaches puberty. Remember…just averages! So, don't sweat it if your child sleeps slightly longer or shorter.

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Teens

Oh, the wonder of raging hormones! If you are in your teenage years, take no offense to this statement, as you quite possibly will hear this over and over again. When we sat down to write this, many of us looked back and remember it is probably the one thing, out of many, we just didn't want to hear from all those 'old' folks. Most of us haven't forgotten it! We have to say though, in retrospect, it is just plain TRUE!

No lectures though! Promise! Staying on the topic of sleep… The teen years are characterized by less sleep, averaging about 7½ to 8½ hours of sleep per night. But of course, because teens are now walking around with all kinds of new hormonal balances, it is like their brains are being made anew in many ways. All kinds of things are happening in the neural networks of the brain! Some areas of the brain and their respective connections are becoming enhanced and more dominant, while other networks do the opposite. It really is an amazing phase of human development.

With these physiological changes in the teen body, there are countless changes in behavioral norms in respect to the earlier years. This can be expected. And, sleep is one of them.

Next, the early adult years…PARTY TIME!

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Mid-Adult Years

Ah, early adulthood… the beginning of freedom! With the newly found freedom we slowly learn there is the flip side to it…responsibility. The trend for many is let our hair down and do many of the things we weren't allowed to do when we lived with our parent(s). Staying up late and getting less sleep is definitely something many of us experience for those first few years of college and it is a trend that continues throughout a lot of our twenties.

In fact, many surveys show that people believe they can't compete in the marketplace unless they sacrifice some their sleep. You can learn about the importance of sleep in the Sleep and Mortality section of the web site: how important sleep truly is on our bodies and minds and how not getting enough can hinder our long-term success and overall health, although we may think differently.

Although there is only about a 30-minute or so change in our sleeping patterns between the ages of 20 to about 75, this approximate age range is when most of the reported problems with sleep arise. One study out of California suggests that those between 40 and 65 slept on average of about 7 hours. This is less than those in their teen years and early twenties.

Unfortunately, the middle adult years are the most lacking in sleep research, simply because it is so difficult to actually study this age group, who perhaps justifiably are busy with relationships, family, work (making money), and other activities. It is hard to get them to take time out and spend hours in a sleep lap!

Amazingly, and no surprise to those of us who are 'getting up there' in years, our bodies seem to actually start to change quite a bit after our early twenties, and we seem to put on weight more easily, our bodies don't heal from injury as quickly, and the quality of sleep changes, with more greater short 'awakenings' that take place throughout the night. Although these are only brief awakenings, they can sometimes give us the feeling that we haven't slept at all, which of course, isn't good!

Realizing this and having the more appropriate sleep aids, like the Stasis Sleep™ Pillow, which is the most anatomically correct and universally applicable pillow, can help greatly in getting a better night's rest. Sometimes, we simple get frustrated with these brief awakenings throughout the night, and we amplify it with greater tossing and turning, which in some cases, can lead to body pains.

Don't worry…there are things we can do to help! You can help yourself greatly by having the proper sleep support and making yourself more knowledgeable about the topic of sleep itself. There are many sleep tips provided for you on this web site, and more tools to help you in the Stasis Sleep™ Pillow Companion Guide© you can choose to receive with your new pillow(s) (while supplies last).

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Golden Years

First, we want to let you know that in the current sleep research there are differing and seemingly conflicting views in regard to the amount of needed sleep for those in their golden years. Some reports say that our elders need the same amount of sleep as those at any other age (aside from the early childhood years). Other professionals seem to maintain the position that seniors actually need less sleep.

Contradicting views are found in most fields of science, so it should be no surprise that we find this. Don't worry about it though, because our goal is better sleep, and we don't think this will ultimately make the difference for you. If you are concerned though, as we stated before we started, please don't hesitate to contact your professional healthcare provider.

During the Golden Years phase in our lives, when ironically we are finally able to take time out to catch-up on the sleep we have wanted to get for so long, there are clear indicators that sleep in our Golden Years changes quite a bit. This phenomenon takes place for a variety of reasons.

As we age into these potentially beautiful years, there seems to be a higher correlation of associated health problems. Some of these health problems might interfere with the quality and quantity of our sleep, which can obviously affect the quality of our waking hours as well.

Some of the health problems associated with aging are:

• Alzheimer's
• Arthritis
• Cancer
• Dementia
• Gastro-Esophageal Reflux (GER) or Acid Reflux
• Heartburn
• Heart Disease(s) or Conditions
• High-Blood Pressure
• Pulmonary Diseases

As you can see, there are a variety of health related diseases that can affect one's sleep. The list can be quite extensive! Only a few are shown here to let you see that health conditions can interrupt our sleep and have been documented by sleep professionals.

Sleep apnea (momentary/transient cessation of breathing), hot flashes, joint pain from arthritis, chest pains, and more can lead to a restless night sleep, thus taking away from the quality of sleep we need.

One of the most startling aspects of sleep as we age gracefully into our Golden Years is the amount of "microarousals" that take place. The microarousals are short, unremembered awakenings that take place during one's rest period. The overall impact of these microarousals on the amount of sleep is actually very little. The amazing and startling part is that they can take place as much as 1,000 times in a single night! But, please remember the good news, they only last a few brief moments and we don't even realize they are taking place.

So, the verdict is still out as to the amount of sleep needed by those of us aging into our Golden Years. There is a lot more information on sleep and the elderly than other ages fortunately, so don't hesitate to do some research on subjects like napping and tips for sleep for the elderly. Another potentially helpful topic is hormonal change and how these changes affect your sleep, so keep your eyes open for this fascinating and helpful aspect of sleep.

We do provide information on these subjects and more in the Stasis Sleep Book© , which can be free with your pillow(s), so if you are ordering you own Stasis Sleep™ Pillow, you can look forward to reading more about this interesting and applicable topic. Remember… it's important to choose the book as your free gift when you checkout.

Please remember, it is all about getting a better night's rest. We hope some of this information was enjoyable, informative, and helps. Please, feel free to us if you have any suggestions or comments. Thanks…and enjoy your new pillow(s) and sleep guide.

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