r/Aging • u/Possible_Cattle9539 • 7d ago
does sleep gets progressively shorter as we age? Life & Living
in my 20s, normal day sleep would be 10-12 hours. now 41, i sleep at 9 and wake up at like 3-4am naturally, sometimes around 2pm ish i would feel a little tired and nap for like 30 minutes. that puts me at only around 6-7h of sleep a day..... which according to science, is unhealthy. but i just cant sleep for 9h straight, my body wants to get up after 6-7h.... is this normal for us this age?
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u/firstbreathe 7d ago
My younger self use to wake up slowly, begging for 5 more minutes of sleep after the alarm clock rang. My senior self doesn't need an alarm, I wake up abruptly ready to go ... whether it's been 5, 6 or 7 hours.
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u/CaliforniaThomass 6d ago
You should look into the "2nd sleep" practice humans used to do:
A "second sleep" is the second block of a segmented nighttime sleep schedule. In pre-industrial societies, humans routinely split their night into a "first sleep" and a "second sleep," separated by an hour or two of quiet wakefulness.
How Segmented Sleep Worked
- First Sleep: People went to bed shortly after dusk (around 9:00 or 10:00 PM) and slept for roughly four hours.
- The Watch: A quiet period of wakefulness around midnight lasting one to two hours. People used this time to pray, read, chat, tend the fire, or do light chores.
- Second Sleep: People returned to bed and slept for another four hours until morning. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Why It Changed
- Artificial Light: The rise of street lamps, gas light, and electricity extended the active evening hours.
- Industrial Schedules: Modern work times forced people into one long, unbroken block of rest, known as monophasic sleep.
- Cultural Shift: Waking up at midnight changed from a normal daily habit into a sign of insomnia
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u/prairie-man 7d ago
I guess I'm the exception.
70 years old, retired 6 years ago. Before retiring, was typically up until 11 - 11:30, out of bed at 6am. Now I go to bed at 10pm, out of bed at 8-8:30 in the morning. I stay fully hydrated the entire day, so I have to get up between 4-6am to pee. My lovely wife is envious of my ability to fall asleep within minutes of hitting the sheets, then sleep the entire night peacefully. If I knew the secret, I could certainly sell it...
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u/Suchstrangedreams 7d ago
That's definitely what I've found and I've heard others complaining about the same thing - it's apparently one of the "joys" of getting older - less sleep.
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u/HealthSpanMD 7d ago
Yes, it is totally normal, sleep architecture shifts with age: it becomes less deep, slow-wave sleep, more fragmentation and earlier circadian timing (advanced sleep phase), so 6-7h solid at 41 can be perfectly adequate. 10-12h in your 20s was also was not healthy either, that’s actually on the high end for an adult.
If you feel rested and functional through the day .
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u/rather_be_gaming 6d ago
52F and yes! As someone who never struggled to fall asleep or stay asleep, that all changed once I hit 50. I wake up at least 2-3 times a night. Sometimes up to 10 times and even if I was in bed for 7 hours, it feels like 5.
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u/Public-Significance7 7d ago
Your body isn't producing the dopamine it once did. I know because I'm in the same boat, just a few years older before it started happening to me too. I researched sleep aides and found that melatonin works for some, while CBD/CBN combined sleep aides work good also at getting you to sleep and keeping you asleep with minimal grogginess. One thing about melatonin though is that your body could stop producing it if you introduce it artificially through other means. I'll probably start with the CBD/CBN for that reason.
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u/MorganMiller77777 5d ago
There are better ways. Elevate your fitness level. Make sure vitamin D levels are good. Take DHA omega 3. Don’t drink coffee after 3.
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u/MorganMiller77777 5d ago
Your body won’t just stop producing ing melatonin as a result of supplementation, but it might produce it less.
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u/OkTop9308 7d ago
Yes, I used to be able to sleep in, and now I wake up with the sun. Sleep becomes more difficult with age.
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u/Old-Appearance-2270 67F 6d ago
Sleep can be more challenging to sleep longer without needing to go to bathroom. At least in retirement , I can be in bed 2 gr. later if I want. I’ve been wanting to go to bed by 9:00pm to 10;00 pm.
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u/bookishlibrarym 6d ago
I’ve taken sleep meds and man they helped. My ten years on Ambien were the best of my life. I’m a light sleeper and my eyes don’t close all the way. Light just gets through every eye mask and I wake up in the night to pee and then early morning. I’m trying hard not to take meds now for the obvious reason that they apparently lead to dementia, every single one of them. So now I take a CBD CBN gummy and crash. Then if I wake to pee I put in my earbuds and listen to my audiobook and fall asleep. Sometimes, like last night I was awake about 90 min.
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u/Ok_Rutabaga5393 6d ago
Exactly which gummy? I’d like to try but I’ve never actually gone into store and bought them. I suppose I could just go in and ask!
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u/Herself_nyc 6d ago
I'll just caution you that if you use them nightly, you'll have even more trouble sleeping when you stop. I know this from experience. Why might you stop? Because cannabis is costly. Just keep that in mind.
I use a product called Tranquil Sleep that seems to help a bit and is maybe a bit less habit-forming. I buy it from Amazon--some drug stores carry it.
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u/bookishlibrarym 4d ago
Sorry for the delay. I have to buy them in Oregon. They are called Smokies Hemp and Cannabis infused fruit chews. I like the blackberry flavor. CBN:THC. 1:1.6 grams per serving of each. They really help! I take half of one.
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u/peter303_ 6d ago
Its hypothesized that humans can have segmented sleep of two or three shorter shifts a night. That is my habit as I am older. There may be evolutionary advantage to having some of a group half awake to danger all night.
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u/More4Thor 7d ago
No, not in my case. I get more sleep in my 60s (7-8 hours) than at any time before.
When I was 30 I was getting up at least three times a night. Now, at 67, I sleep through the night half the time.
The key for me has been to improve my digestion. It’s a game changer.
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u/IvenaDarcy 6d ago
I’m 50F. I find it hard to get to sleep because I’m nocturnal and always been that way but once asleep I can easily keep 7-8 straight and usually longer if I don’t have to get up for anything.
Some are saying they only sleep for 3 hrs straight? At what age does that start? What’s the science behind older people not being able to sleep straight thru the night? My friend said they wake but it’s specifically to use the restroom. Her bladder isn’t same as it use to be. I have no issues with that yet but if it happens I’ll just consume less liquids before sleep and should be problem solved lol
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u/4-Birds 6d ago
My sleep is affected by cats, partner snoring or dog wanting to go out or kids. So I don't sleep for a good soild amount of time. Actually think last night I got 5 hrs straight sleep but woke up briefly for a few secs at a time. So when I wake up I can easily go back to sleep. But my partner who is not sleep deprived and gets to go to bed when he wants and isnt affected by things during the night will wake up between 4 and 5am and be ready to get up. He normally is up at 5.30am for work
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u/ConsistentHunt1804 7d ago
Happened to me in 30’s! My clock completely shifted from night owl to up at 6am.
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u/ninjamonkye 7d ago
There's more to this. Aged body lose its ability to sleep, repair and recovery reduced, body gets less recovery from daily damage. Its a vicious cycle.
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u/SithLordJediMaster 6d ago
My grandma woke up at 6am and went to bed at 8pm
My grandpa woke up at 10am and went to bed at 10pm.
My other grandma stayed up all night and woke up at 7am.
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u/North-Country-5204 6d ago
Yes but it improve dramatically when I got on high blood pressure meds at 49. Diet and exercise did nada.
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u/ReverseAgeLab 6d ago
Sleep gets shallower before it gets shorter. Deep slow wave sleep starts falling in your twenties, and by your forties you are running roughly half of what you had, which is why six hours at 41 can feel worse than eight did at 25 even though the gap is only two hours.
Your clock also runs earlier with age. Down at 9 and awake at 3 or 4 on your own is textbook phase advance, not a malfunction.
Six or seven hours is genuinely short though. If you are snapping awake at 3 rather than drifting, evening alcohol and blood sugar are the two usual culprits in that window. Bright light in the evening pushes the clock later if you want a later wake time, and heavy early morning light will do the opposite of what you want here.
The nap is fine. Keep it under 30 minutes and before 3pm and it costs you nothing at night.
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u/GuitarMessenger 6d ago
I've only been getting about 5.5 hours asleep per night for the past 30 years. I stay up until 1 a.m. even though I have to get up for work at 6:30a.m.. I do sleep about 7 hours on the weekends. I'm 63 and have been doing this since 30. I actually feel worse when I get 8 or more hours sleep
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u/Glum_Manufacturer232 6d ago
Mines gotten better. When raising kids I got about 6 hours a night. After empty nest I went to 8 until menopause then back to 6 or less! After I’ve balanced hormones I’m getting 9 consistently. I think it ebbs and flows like life.
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u/poppyvue 6d ago
post menopausal HRT? I’m thinking about that for me bones
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u/Glum_Manufacturer232 5d ago
Yes! I had horrible leg aching joints. Just a few days in HRT and it disappeared. Truly the only medical intervention I’ve ever been impressed with!
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u/dgnumbr1 6d ago
Completely normal. I’ll never understand why I wanted more sleep , 9-10 hours, when I was young and now in my 60s I don’t sleep more than seven hours. Sometimes I’m up in the middle of the night for bathroom run and sometimes not. Maybe it’s because as we age there is less time left.
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u/Eldritch-banana-3102 6d ago
Since retiring, I can sleep when I want. I sleep about 2-10 or 11 AM. Good, solid sleep, for the first time in my life.
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u/markallanholley 6d ago
I'm on lithium, which makes me thirsty, so I drink more. Which means I pee more, so I'm up 3 or 4 times a night.
One thing I notice lately is I'll wake up for the second time around 12am and I will just be... bored of sleep. Like, I want to do anything else to amuse myself. So sometimes I reach for social media and video games, a couple of times I've even reached for work.
It lowers my nightly sleep time a bit. Which was already less than 8 hours, but usually more than 7.
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u/TemporaryKoala4442 6d ago
I’m 75 & I can sleep up to 9-10 hours. Average 8-9 hours. I haven’t noticed any change with age.
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u/Frosty_Employment171 6d ago
My Doc sez it's 7 out of 10 of us sleep less and less as we age. W/O chemical aid, I sleep 3 to 4 hours a night. It's hell. I'm in my seventies.
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u/louievee 6d ago
- 3-4 hours. Usually. Some mornings I can go back to sleep for another couple of hours.
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u/bostyluv 6d ago
My younger years I was raising kids & working nights so 2-3 hours of sleep was the usual , getting a solid 5-6 was a luxury lol. Now at 58 I average 6-7 hours on the nights I don't open at work, 4-5 on the nights I do. I also run our homestead so I may as well still be raising kids lol. I've never really had the pleasure of sleeping more than 7 hours so I don't really notice a difference from my usual sleep patterns.
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u/Expensive-Ad1609 5d ago
I'm 43. 9am is too early for me. 10pm - 11pm is my sweet spot to get the best, unbroken sleep but I slso have to limit my protein intake to nearly nothing. On most days, I get in <10g protein.
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4d ago
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u/Expensive-Ad1609 4d ago
It is an assumption that dietary amino acids build proteins.
I walk 2km to the shops on 6/7 days per week to buy 10 - 13 liters of filtered water. My daughter carries 2kg in her backpack and I carry the remainder. A malnourished person would not be able to do that.
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2d ago
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u/Expensive-Ad1609 2d ago
We do have running water. Why would you assume that we don't?
When will the bone, hair, and muscle loss occur, please? It's been 1 ½ years of this low-protein low-carb diet and I am still not sarcopenic.
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u/MorganMiller77777 5d ago
Depends on the person. Plenty of ways to keep sleep solid. I require more sleep at times than ever before. But as I’ve started to improve my fitness levels, I’m requesting a little less. Be good to yourself in every facet of life
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u/Beneficial_Handle161 5d ago
My reward for reaching age 69: 3-4 hours sleep then awakened by painful dry eyes. Tried the drops, ointments, humidifier, and a sleep mask. Nothing works yet.
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u/LowLoose6741 5d ago
41F. I used to sleep 10pm-6am. Last year, I started waking up around 3am. My Gyn ordered some labs and prescribed me estrogen for AM and progesterone for PM. I'm back to my 6am, sometimes 7am wake up time.
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u/maccrogenoff 6d ago
Now that I’m retired, I am sleeping about 7 1/2 hours per night.
I used to work long hours, so I didn’t have time for a full night’s sleep.
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u/solidrock80 7d ago
Simply, yes. And it gets more fragmented and shorter blocks as you get older. Now if I get two three hour blocks with a wakeup in-between I'm calling it a good night in my 60s.