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INTRO
Getting adequate sleep is essential to supporting our best life during retirement. Sleeping soundly is often overlooked in favor of more tangible lifestyle choices, like eating healthily and exercising regularly. But if we want to complete the health trifecta, then ensuring we have ample sleep is paramount to a happy retirement.
Let’s explore the benefits of sleep in greater detail, and how you can attain quality sleep as you get older...
AGING AND SLEEP: THE UNDERLYING CONNECTION
All humans have an internal body clock located in their hypothalamus that modulates sleep hours. This internal body clock, scientifically called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, is responsible for controlling a person’s hunger levels, sleepiness, and the release of body hormones. These follow a daily time cycle called the circadian rhythm.The healthy interplay of the body and sleep helps support a plethora of bodily functions. However, when we age, the circadian rhythm loses its groove, and that can mean a heightened risk of sleep problems.
One major change that can affect us is the decreased secretion of melatonin. This hormone typically gets released during the night and prompts sleep, and having too little of it can make achieving that restful state even more challenging. Deeper, more restful stages of sleep are also harder to achieve, especially as daytime napping becomes more prevalent.
Furthermore, as we age, we can become more prone to health problems that can cause mental and physical distress. Arthritis, depression, anxiety are some common problems that can interfere with sleep. Certain OTC medications can also contribute to sleeplessness. These factors combined can make sleeping difficult for us as we age.
THE SUPERPOWERS OF SLEEP: HOW WE BENEFIT FROM SLEEP
Restful
sleep helps support physical, mental, and emotional health. It can also
lengthen our lifespan and make us more energized throughout the day.
Here
are the specific ways in which sleep can help us enjoy our retirement years to the fullest:
1. Enhances cognitive abilities
2. Improves emotional resilience and well-being
Poor
sleep quality can lead to anxiety, depression, and elevated feelings of stress
due to increased cortisol production. This can affect our waking life
negatively.
While
it’s not a cure-all solution, sleeping at least 7 hours a night can help regulate our mood better. This, in turn, can make us more emotionally resilient, and less prone to irritability, heightened sensitivity, and mood swings.
3. Improves physical health and chronic pain
Attaining
good sleep is important for reducing the risk of a slew of physical diseases.
For instance, coronary heart disease and hypertension tend to be more prevalent
in sleep deprived people than people with normal sleeping patterns.
Conversely, good sleep contributes to a healthier body, both physically and
internally. In particular, adequate sleep allows blood and oxygen to flow to
crucial key points within the body that may need it (such as injured tissues),
kickstarting the healing process.
4. Makes us more energized throughout the day
Lethargy
and fatigue can make us tired throughout the day. It can also heighten
sensitivity, irritability, and pessimism, which can make our
waking hours feel intolerable.
Getting
enough sleep, on the other hand, allows us to feel happy and well-rested, which can make us feel more energized throughout the day.
HOW TO ACHIEVE QUALITY SLEEP AS A RETIREE
Find it difficult to sleep, even on your do-nothing days? You’re not alone - many of us find it harder to sleep as we age. That said, that doesn’t make it any less important. If we want to achieve restful sleep, here are some tips to help:
The best way to know for sure is to get an assessment from a sleep specialist. They can make a diagnosis of any underlying condition, and lay out steps to follow for its management, such as getting a CPAP mask from a CPAP provider.
1. Get treatment for underlying conditions
The best way to know for sure is to get an assessment from a sleep specialist. They can make a diagnosis of any underlying condition, and lay out steps to follow for its management, such as getting a CPAP mask from a CPAP provider.
2. Follow a sleep schedule
People
who stick to habits for a month straight are more likely to stick to these
habits for the long haul. If you want to be consistent with our sleeping
habits, then you need to try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
It's also important to avoid using smartphones and electronic devices one hour before bed. This
can help with unwinding more easily, and getting to sleep much more
quickly.
3. Create a distraction-free sleep environment
Your bedroom needs to be cool, dark, and dry. If light seeps through cracks in the
doors or windows, get a door sealing strip or a blackout curtain. Find
yourself sweating too much during the night? Turn on a fan or airconditioning unit and switch it to
sleep mode if you want to conserve electricity.
Sleeping
without distractions can make your mind unwind more easily, helping you to eventually drift off peacefully.
4. Refrain from daytime napping
Napping
throughout the day may be tempting when you’re tired, but this type of sleep
isn’t good for you if you want to enjoy the full benefits of an uninterrupted
8 hours of sleep.
Instead
of daytime napping, let yourself be a little tired during the day and it will make you feel more tired and ready for sleep when you go to bed at night. When done
regularly, it will become a habit, and sleep will come more easily at nighttime.
5. Try the 4-7-8 breathing technique
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
How's your sleep quality as you're getting older? Are you noticing you don't sleep as well as you used to? I know my sleep is lighter, and I wake more easily during the night - and I regularly use the 4-7-8 breathing technique when I find it hard to drift off again.BEFORE YOU GO:
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I think sleep is an underrated thing Leanne and all your points are very valid. (Touch wood) I'm not one who has trouble sleeping but I do have the odd night where I wake at 3am for some reason and then try the 4-7-8 breathing technique. It's an interesting topic!
ReplyDeleteHi Deb - I'm much the same - I don't have trouble falling asleep, but I have the 3am wake up happen on a semi-regular basis. The breathing helps settle me back again and I'm still loving not waking up to an alarm in the mornings :)
DeleteYour post is an important reminder of the restorative powers of sleep. I sure know when I haven’t had enough! Denyse
ReplyDeleteHi Denyse - sleep becomes such a hot topic as we age - it seems to impact all of us in some way - I remember when I could sleep through anything - not anymore!
DeleteSleep is a drug to me. I've just woken from an uninterrupted 8.5 hrs of sleep; unusual for me. I hung the flag last night (in reference to a tv commercial whereby the flag reading, "I slept" was put on the front lawn). I get my best sleep when I retire to bed 9-9:30PM. Evening routine is NB as well. I can retire at the same time but if the routine has been altered, I tend not to sleep as well. I've never been a good napper although I believe there's benefit in that. I do mean nap and not a long sleep of 1-2+ hrs. A cool, dark room facilitates sleep for me. Having said all that, I've had sleepless nights (remembering the sleeplessness of perimenopause). And days while working a 7-day (?) stretch of night shifts. I do my best not to worry about them, trusting that sleep will eventually come. I think we've been socialized to do our sleeping at night. Granted, we are not nocturnal animals for the most part. Yeah, sleep is a tonic.
ReplyDeleteHi Mona - I aim for 9 hours and probably get about 8.5 including a little wake up sometime during the early hours (with a loo trip included!) I'd love to fall asleep and then wake the next morning without having disturbed - I'd fly a flag in my yard for that! But I'm pretty happy with the sleep I get. I'm also finding that sleeping in the same bed as my snoring husband has gotten trickier with age and with sleeping more lightly - something I never realized would come with getting older...
DeleteHello Leanne - I have been battling insomnia all my life. As a baby I was often sick and didn't sleep much and as a child (too many stressors) I had a difficult time sleeping and it followed me through my life. I am using all the suggestions mentioned about but I am still struggling. Trauma gets embedded in the body and the mind. The gift of sleep that so many takes for granted. I go to bed exhausted and I get up exhausted and I do my daily tasks. Chronic pain doesn't help either. It's a vicious cycle but I keep on going. Thank you for sharing about such an important topic.
ReplyDeleteHi Yvonne - I think chronic pain is a huge influence on sleep. I remember what it was like when my hip was constantly aching and not being able to sleep on that side. It meant being constantly disturbed, re-settling, repeat all night long. I'm so sorry your sleep has been poor all your life, because nothing beats a good night's sleep (except maybe lots of good nights of sleep...) And sleep definitely gets more elusive as we get older.
DeleteHi Leanne, Malcolm struggles with getting restful sleep. He has tried lots of methods for relaxation, cutting out sugar and alcohol at night, and some perscription drugs, but nothing really works for him. I sleep like a log, (eight hours) even on days when I've taken a nap. It is a blessing that I don't take for granted as things have a way of changing rapidly at this age.
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne - sleeping well is such a gift (something we took for granted when we were younger) and I remember how shattered I was through the new baby years (and it was years!) and then getting things back on track. Now I find I sleep a lot more lightly than I used to, so noises disturb me - I've just purchased some new earplugs in the hope they'll be comfortable enough to sleep in - time will tell!
DeleteLeanne, I've always put sleep on my things to do to be healthy. I'm lucky that I do sleep quite well in retirement. It took me a long while for me to find my natural body clock for falling asleep and waking up. When working I pushed myself awake earlier than natural, stayed up later than natural, and tried to make it up (sleep wise) on the weekends! But now, it feels quite natural (both falling asleep and getting up, usually to see the sunrise!) and I hope that lasts as I get older!
ReplyDeleteHi Pat - I'll never be a crack of dawn riser - that was the blessing for me with retirement - no more alarm clocks and no more getting up in the dark during winter. I love waking naturally and having my morning routine, and I'm grateful for it every day. I'm also really aware of keeping my sleep cycle maintained to avoid losing my rythmn as I age.
DeleteHi Leanne - I can fully relate to this. Though I get quality sleep of around six to seven hours, that's not at a time when normally everyone gets their sleep. For me it's usually from around 2 am to around 8 am or 9 am.
ReplyDeleteNow there are just 11 months for me to retire. Sleeping around 10 pm and waking up around 6 am is what I am eagerly looking forward to.
Hi Pradeep - yay for retirement being on the horizon.....and getting to choose when you go to bed and when you get up. I found that not setting my alarm was one of the small joys of retirement that I hadn't considered, but appreciate hugely :)
DeleteOh, the days of sleeping through the night and no matter what was happening are long gone. Bathroom trips are now mandatory. Not much I can do about that except to get back to sleep by deep breathing. But I do know the value of turning off TV and phones, and having a dark and cool room. Waking up feeling refreshed is a lovely feeling.
ReplyDeleteHi Judith - yes I can relate to each of these! They say "youth is wasted on the young" and I thing good quality sleep is too! I'm coming to the conclusion that I'll probably never sleep through the night without waking here or there (and getting up to the loo) but if those wakeful periods are short, then I'm okay with that. And waking without a headache is a joy for me too - I think I'm getting old!
DeleteI am (and have been for as long as I can remember) a poor sleeper. My husband (half) jokes that I could hear a frog fart in a car on the Bruce Highway - which is quite a way away from us.
ReplyDeleteI can see where you get your literary inspiration from Jo - the 'frog fart' made me smile. I'm still trying to find a set of earplugs that are comfortable to wear when I side sleep - I'm hoping when I finally discover those unicorns that I'll have a more consistent night's sleep - and the snoring noise will disappear....
DeleteYes, Leanne, I have found deep sleeping more of a challenge in the last several years. Unfortunately, I have tried all the sleep hygiene recommendations with limited success. I do find breathing exercises useful when I'm having trouble falling to sleep. I have not seen a sleep specialist, as the mere thought of using a CPAP gives me anxiety. I can't stand anything on my face (even my own hair) when I'm trying to sleep. I don't have any of the symptoms of sleep apnea, so I'm trusting that isn't my problem.
ReplyDeleteHi Christie - I know sleep apnea isn't my issue either - I think I just sleep more lightly than I used to, so noise, light, temperature etc all impact me more than they used to. I figure if I don't have any long wakeful periods during the night then I've had a reasonable sleep - so different from my younger days of deep, restful sleep!
DeleteThank you for writing about the unsung hero of sleep. I know I do not sleep well. I have not for years. Mine is mainly due to fibromyalgia and some other issues that have been addressed so when I can sleep it is a much-wanted item-/-treat. I am not the only one in my family who has this issue and it is not an easy subject to find what works for you. In my case pain is what pushes forth in the middle of the night and I wake and then am up for between a few minutes and hours.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry that you have chronic pain - I experienced similar wakefulness when my hip was deteriorating - and then through the recovery after replacement surgery. That constant nagging pain that wakes us and then keeps us awake is certainly a huge issue in the second half of life. I can't understand how modern medicine hasn't discovered a simple solution to managing chronic, long term pain - it would make our lives a LOT easier. I hope you find some restful sleep in amongst the wakeful times - and perhaps a little nap during the day to tide you over? :)
DeleteLIFE can make the difference in my quality of sleep. Like you and Debbie, I often have nights when I wake up at 3:00 and can't go back to sleep but those are usually nights when I have something/someone on my mind. It was especially true when my mom was still living and I never knew from one day to the next what was going to happen with her. Knock wood, I have been sleeping well in the past month or so and able to get up when the alarm goes off to do my quiet time. My mom swore by afternoon naps, maybe 20 minutes of reading and 20 minutes of napping in bed every day. If I nap for 20 minutes, I am okay but any longer than that and I don't want to wake up.
ReplyDeleteI try to avoid naps because they make my night time sleeping lighter and I disturb more. I think it's just a fact of life that we don't sleep as well as we age, and we just need to do what we can to get as much restful sleep as possible. I feel it's okay to wake during the night as long as it's not for longish periods - I hate that wakefulness that comes with stewing over something in my head....fortunately that is happening less often lately for me too.
Delete