Effects of Aging on Deep Sleep – All four stages of your sleep are also affected. The need for sleep in our bodies is not constant. It changes while aging. In this article, we will discuss the requirement for sleep with aging. As per some of the scientific studies, the amount of deep sleep tends to reduce with age because of the changes in the critical areas of the body, which help in deep sleep.
Sleep changes that happen with age
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As we age, the amount of all the sleep stages, including non-REM sleep, which includes the first three stages, and the REM sleep stage, in which we primarily dream, tend to decrease. But do you know? Babies can spend around 50% of their sleep in this stage, but if we talk about adults, they only spend around 20-30% of their time in the REM sleep stage.
Apart from this, the elderly are reported to be getting less sleep. It has been reported that most elders face a lot of sleep disturbances and more frequent nighttime wakeups due to their hormonal changes, stress, and medical complications.
What to do about this?
If you are also facing sleep disorder, unable to get proper deep sleep as per your age, and facing nigh time wakings, then you should not avoid these cases. You should work on your lifestyle and make some changes. We have listed some changes that can help you sleep better. These lifestyle changes are not complex; slightly changing your routine will give you a better sleep cycle.
Physical Activity
Spend some of your days in physical activities, including exercise, yoga, and meditation. You don’t have to do any hard and fast exercises. Just engaging your body in light physical excites. Such as jogging, cycling, or outdoor light games, which you can quickly adapt to your body. The primary goal is regular physical activities while strengthening your body. Also, your tissues and cells will need time to recover so that they will send your mind signals for rest, and as a result, you will end up having a better deep sleep.
Other Lifestyle Changes to support better deep sleep
- Avoid alcohol before going to bed,
- Restrict your screen timing.
- Take some relaxing sleep supplements,
- Make your surrounding comfortable,
- Listen to some sleep-relaxing music,
The bottom line is our sleep needs change with age, and due to body changes and stress levels, it becomes difficult to sleep, so you should make some lifestyle changes, as we mentioned above, to get better deep sleep. As if you will get proper sleep, you will only be able to start your next day with more energy and freshness.
