Why does the quality of sleep decline a lot when people reach old age?

Basically, older people have a harder time falling asleep at night and tend to sleep less than they did when they were younger. The following are the possible reasons why the quality of sleep decreases a lot in old age.

Aging can disrupt the circadian rhythm of older adults, causing changes in their sleep. In addition, changes in the production of hormones such as melatonin and cortisol, which promote sleep by coordinating circadian rhythms, may also contribute to sleep quality in older adults. As we age, the body produces less melatonin, which causes less sleep in older adults.

Mental and physical health conditions can also interfere with sleep. Conditions that commonly affect sleep in older adults include depression, anxiety, heart disease, diabetes, and conditions that cause discomfort and pain, such as arthritis. Sleep problems can also be related to medications, and many over-the-counter and prescription medications can cause sleep problems.

For example, antihistamines, among others, may cause daytime sleepiness, while medications such as antidepressants may keep older adults awake and cause insomnia symptoms. Interactions with multiple medications can also have unexpected effects on sleep.

Poor sleep quality in older adults may be related to lifestyle changes as they age. For example, retirement can lead to less work outside the home, possibly more napping and a reduced structured sleep schedule. Other major life changes, such as loss of independence and social isolation, can increase stress and anxiety, which can also lead to sleep problems.

Older adults who exercise regularly sleep faster, sleep longer, and sleep better. There's also the need to reduce distractions in the bedroom, such as TVs, cell phones, and bright lights, which can make it harder to fall asleep. Dinner time should be at least four hours before bedtime.

Also, keep a regular sleep schedule and don't take a nap too long. It's best to find activities to relax before bed, such as some older people like to read before bed.

There are four reasons why older people get less time to sleep.

1. Metabolism slows down.

As we age, our body functions decline, our metabolism slows down, and we don't have as much time to rest, so we sleep less. Normal elderly people should sleep for 6-7 hours a day, which is normal, but if it is less than 6 hours, health will also be affected. Sleeping too much can also increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

2. Deterioration of brain function.

As we get older, our body organs will also age, brain function will decline, brain cells will deteriorate, the brain's ability to coordinate day and night will decrease, and sleep will be chaotic. Elderly people will feel that they cannot sleep well, and there are many cases of not being able to sleep.

3. Geriatric diseases appear.

Due to the deterioration of body organs, the body's immunity will also decline, and various diseases will appear, such as high blood pressure, gout, thrombosis, migraine, etc., which will affect the quality of sleep, insomnia occurs from time to time, and the elderly will sleep less often.

What are the effects of poor sleep in the elderly?

First of all, if the elderly do not sleep well, their mental state will not be too good, and they will often feel weak when they wake up, unable to lift their spirits or concentrate. Many old people who don't sleep well look dull and dull, giving people a sense of depression.

Secondly, the elderly do not sleep well and are more likely to get sick. When a person sleeps, the organs repair themselves and keep the body in a state of balance. However, after insomnia disorder, the organs are dysfunctional, the immunity is reduced, and the body is more likely to get sick.

For the elderly who already have diseases, poor sleep is easy to aggravate the condition and is not conducive to physical health.

Finally, the elderly do not sleep well and are prone to Alzheimer's. Poor sleep will affect brain function, brain cells will die faster, which is the chance of developing Alzheimer's disease.

This is because when people reach old age, their physical quality will not be as good as when they were young, and they have more things to worry about, and it is not easy to achieve deep sleep. So the quality of sleep has dropped a lot.

Personally, I think it's because people's nerves become sensitive when they get old, and they wake up easily when they sleep at night, so the quality of sleep is poor.

Because there will be some problems in the blood supply system of the brain after aging, which will lead to a decrease in sleep, and the impact on the body is relatively large.

As the quality of sleep gets worse and worse with age, the newborn baby sleeps most of the time every day, because that is the period of his fastest growth and development in history, and it is necessary to ensure a long period of sleep, which is what we see that the child does not get to see the physical development quickly after a few days of birth.

For example, the gradual maturity of sleep time tends to be normal, and the physical function of the elderly gradually declines, and the secretion of melatonin decreases leading to less and less sleep. However, due to their lack of sleep motivation, many elderly people also feel sleepy during the day, so they will make up for the lack of sleep at night by catching up on sleep or napping. For men, sleep deprivation is associated with a circadian pattern.

<> several important sleep rhythms, including body temperature, melatonin, and cortisol, all appear about an hour earlier in older adults than younger people. For example, the average young person's body temperature peaks at around 10 p.m. and then begins to fall, which is the rhythm at which the body begins to prepare for sleep. In healthy older people, hypothermia begins around 21 p.m. or even earlier.

The same is true in the morning, where the body temperature rises about an hour earlier than the younger. Melatonin and cortisol tend to be similar to body temperature. We know that light exposure is an important factor in influencing circadian rhythms, so some studies have shown that the lack of outdoor activities in older people, or even the degeneration of the eyes themselves, reduces exposure to light, which affects circadian rhythms.

But in most cases, because they have reached a certain age, unlike young people, who have reached a very high level of indicators as they get older, they become very sensitive and vulnerable, so their sleep quality will be worse than that of young people, so it is normal to sleep less, as long as we guarantee high-quality sleep, ok, generally speaking, the elderly tend to sleep about two hours less than the young, and she often corrects it with catch-up sleep and naps.

After entering old age, his physical function will decline, which is inevitable, and many elderly people actually feel this way. For this reason, the most important one is that after the body reaches old age, his metabolism is much slower than before, so his quality of life is not like before. He doesn't fall into a deep sleep as easily as others, but the elderly don't, he will always fall asleep, and that's the kind of thing, so in my opinion, the elderly will have such problems, I think it's a very normal thing.

Therefore, if the elderly have this problem, it is very normal, and this is caused by the decline of his physical function, so after the decline of physical function, then such a problem will occur in this situation.

We have always known that the body of the elderly should be completely different from that of young people, so as long as it is completely different, then such problems will occur. So if you talk about this situation, then in my opinion, it is a very normal thing, so when it comes to the physical condition of the elderly, it used to occur often, so I don't think it is strange if it appears now, after all, the physical condition of the elderly is not as good as before. If this happens, then it is very normal.

Any elderly person will have a physical decline in the period of old age, then his memory, including quality, sleep quality, will appear like this, so in my opinion, this is a regular state in their lives, many elderly people have the habit of going to bed early, waking up early, but they will sleep for a very short time, usually four or five hours, not as young as eight hours

The main reason is that the hormone secretion of the elderly is insufficient in old age, and the elderly are easy to sleep during the day, so they will not sleep well at night, and the quality of sleep will decline.

This is because people tend to have trouble sleeping well in old age, and they don't have much sense of security, so the quality of sleep will decline.

Because hormones such as melatonin and cortisol in the body of the elderly change, the quality of sleep decreases.

We will find a very strange phenomenon, the average elderly only need to sleep about five hours a day, and they will feel very satisfied, so why is this? Many elderly people often have some chronic diseases after they get older, and they are prone to neurasthenia, so the sleeping time of the elderly will become shorter and shorter, and the sleep of the elderly will become worse and worse. <>

Many elderly people will have certain fluctuations in their endocrine levels, and when the elderly are older, there will often be some phenomena that are not very good, so at this time, it is easy to cause certain problems when they sleep at night. In addition, some elderly people will have a phenomenon of autonomic nervous system dysfunction after entering menopause, which will affect the rest of the elderly. When we get older, we will often have some chronic diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., which can easily affect everyone's sleep.

It is recommended that you usually do not sleep often during the day, for a long time, we often find that some elderly people like to sit in a chair and take a nap, this phenomenon is very incorrect. If we sleep for a long time during the day, we will not be able to sleep at night. If your daily routine is very normal, then it doesn't matter if you sleep for a short time, and going to bed early and waking up early will make our body healthier.

The length of sleep will not directly affect our health, but here, we need to pay attention to the fact that we usually develop a more regular work and rest time. Go to bed before 10 o'clock at night and get up at about 6 o'clock in the morning, so that it will not affect your health, as long as everyone has enough time to sleep for yourself, then it is okay.

Mental stress is particularly high, or it may be that there is menopause, so the quality of sleep will decrease, or there are many things to worry about in life that have been thinking about it.

Because people are prone to neurasthenia when they get old, and some chronic diseases will occur, which will cause a decrease in sleep quality.

When people reach old age, the organs age, and the endocrine system in the body is relatively disordered, which will affect the nervous system and affect sleep.

The main reason is that the endocrine level will fluctuate at a certain age, and autonomic nerve dysfunction will also occur.

Because the resistance of the elderly is reduced, and the elderly have chronic diseases, the quality of sleep is very poor.

Because with age, the melanin in the body will decline, which will have a great impact on the sleep quality of the elderly; You can drink a glass of hot milk before going to bed or soak your feet in hot water, don't look at your phone before going to bed, don't do too strenuous exercise, wear very fast and very comfortable pajamas, which can maintain a good night's sleep.

Because the mental state of the elderly is relatively weak, it is easy to be affected by the outside world when they fall asleep; You can go for a walk every day and drink a glass of milk before going to bed.

There are many people who have worse sleep quality after middle age, mainly because of the increased stress and more thoughts. If you have a bad state of mind, it can also affect your sleep, it may be a problem of aging or illness, as long as you find the right way to solve this kind of problem. Therefore, you must face all problems with a positive attitude, don't let negative emotions affect you, and your sleep quality will improve.

There are many people who have reached the middle age stage, and the poor sleep quality is because the sleep time is shortening, and many people also have insomnia, mainly because of some of the reasons behind it, and conditioning the body is the most important. Poor sleep quality is one of the causes of reduced immunity, which can lead to accelerated aging, and can also be caused by endocrine disorders. When people reach middle age, the quality of sleep deteriorates because the body ages, and the nerve function also begins to decline, so there will be various reasons.

As we age, the body will also age, and hormones will be secreted, and when hormones are secreted, the body's various functions cannot be stabilized, thus interfering with neurological function, and insomnia will occur. If the sleep quality is very poor after old age, it is necessary to regulate, and sleep disorders may occur, so it is necessary to regulate the endocrine system, so as to have a good sleep quality. In addition to these, it may also be the influence of diseases, many people have insomnia, it may be that the body is aging, and the organs are not well maintained, so that there are diseases.

Some diabetics have difficulty sleeping due to elevated blood sugar, and will also have dry mouth or increased urine at night, resulting in various bad conditions, making it difficult to sleep. There are also some people who may have thyroid diseases because they are older, and then the amount of thyroid hormone secretion will increase, and the nervous system will feel excited. It is also difficult to sleep at night, so this kind of treatment should be done in time, and menopause may occur after middle age, so it is also necessary to adjust the body as soon as possible in order to have good sleep quality.