While a 30- to 90-minute nap in older adults appears to have brain benefits, anything longer than an hour and a half may create problems with cognition, the ability to think and form memories, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Older adults are more likely to take naps during the daytime due to age-related changes in circadian rhythms and sleep patterns. Cultural beliefs, chronic conditions, medications, and lifestyle changes can also contribute to daytime napping. Napping may impact health outcomes among older people.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, an afternoon nap of around 20-30 minutes is best for boosting alertness and mental performance, without interfering with nighttime sleep. The new study, however, suggests that an afternoon nap of around 1 hour is ideal for improving cognitive functioning among older adults.
According to their internal body clock, most older adults need to go to sleep around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. and wake up at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. Many people fight their natural inclination to sleep and choose to go to bed several hours later instead.
Napping, as well as sleeping too much or too little or having poor sleep patterns, appears to increase the risk for cardiovascular disease in older adults, new research shows.
While a 30- to 90-minute nap in older adults appears to have brain benefits, anything longer than an hour and a half may create problems with cognition, the ability to think and form memories, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Compared with younger adults, the elderly spend more time in bed but have deterioration in both the quality and quantity of sleep. All of these changes can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, which in turn can lead to intentional and unintentional napping.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines an “older adult” as someone who is at least 60 years old. Many states may also have different definitions of “elderly” when determining what resources are available in cases of elder abuse, although most states commonly use 65 years of age as the cut-off.
There are plenty of potential culprits. Medications for blood pressure, sleep problems, pain and gastrointestinal reflux can induce fatigue, as can infections, conditions such as arthritis, an underactive thyroid, poor nutrition and alcohol use. All can be addressed, doctors say.
Hormones: As we age, our bodies secrete less of two important sleep hormones: melatonin and growth hormone. Melatonin is important because changes in the level of this hormone control our sleep cycle. With less melatonin, many older adults feel sleepy in the early evening and wake up in the early morning.
Older adults need about the same amount of sleep as all adults—7 to 9 hours each night. But, older people tend to go to sleep earlier and get up earlier than they did when they were younger. There are many reasons why older people may not get enough sleep at night.
The urge to sleep during the day may be a sign that they are not getting enough sleep at night, which is associated with a higher risk of developing those chronic conditions. Daytime drowsiness may also be a sign that you are getting low-quality sleep, which may indicate a sleep disorder.
Although it is normal to feel sleepy once in a while after going short on sleep, repeated bouts of drowsiness are considered excessive daytime somnolence when this happens almost every day for at least three months.
Excessive daytime sleepiness in older adults may be a symptom of health issues like sleep apnea, cognitive impairment, or cardiovascular issues. Sleep Apnea: Obstructive sleep apnea can cause pauses in breathing during sleep.
Naps for adults should be no more than an hour and probably best kept to the 15- to 20-minute range. Anything beyond that – especially considering the time of day – could have consequences.
Is a Two-Hour Nap Too Long? A 2-hour nap may make you feel groggy after you wake up and you might have trouble falling asleep at night. Aim for napping up to 90 minutes, 120-minutes if necessary. Napping every day for 2 hours could be a sign of sleep deprivation and should be discussed with a doctor.
What's happening. With age, bones tend to shrink in size and density, weakening them and making them more susceptible to fracture. You might even become a bit shorter. Muscles generally lose strength, endurance and flexibility — factors that can affect your coordination, stability and balance.
AGE DECLINE is a medical condition of Body Chemistry that begins decline shortly after you 40s. But by the time you hit 60 many of your immunities and body helpers are nearly gone.
The United States' older adult population can thus, be divided into three life-stage subgroups: the young-old (approximately 65 to 74 years old), the middle-old (ages 75 to 84 years old), and the old-old (over age 85).
This report focuses on older Australians—generally those aged 65 and over, unless otherwise specified. For older Indigenous Australians, the age range 50 and over is used, reflecting the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and the lower proportion of Indigenous people aged 65 and over.
Hypersomnia means excessive sleepiness. There are many different causes, the most common in our society being inadequate sleep. This may be due to shiftwork, family demands (such as a new baby), study or social life. Other causes include sleep disorders, medication, and medical and psychiatric illnesses.
Daytime napping among older people is a normal part of aging – but it may also foreshadow Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. And once dementia or its usual precursor, mild cognitive impairment, are diagnosed, the frequency and/or duration of napping accelerates rapidly, according to a new study.
In the nighttime sleep duration stratification, the findings showed that in the ≥8 h/night group, napping > 60 min per day was associated with a lower likelihood of aging successfully (OR, 0.617; 95% CI, 0.387–0.984).