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Posted on Apr 14, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
Many older adults in the US fail to get enough sleep, putting them at a higher risk of developing health problems such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Many older adults in the US fail to get enough sleep, putting them at a higher risk of developing health problems such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Although sleep patterns may change with age, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, disturbed sleep and waking up tired on a daily basis are not normal factors of aging, Medical News Today reports.
Sleep expert Dr Sonia Ancoli-Israel explained: "As we get older, the amount of nightly sleep that we need remains the same as that of what we needed when we were younger. However the ability to get the sleep that we need does change.
"Older people have a hard time getting the sleep they need because of the interference of medical illnesses, the medications they take for those illnesses, and changes in their biological clock."
The effects of aging mean that the ability to get long periods of deep sleep at night is reduced, with older people tending to nap during the day.
