A 60-year-old person has difficulty falling asleep and wakes up early. What impact does this have on the body and how can it be improved?

A friend left a message to Huazi saying that he retired at the age of 60, and his sleep time became shorter and shorter. He had difficulty falling asleep at night and always tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep. Even after falling asleep, he would wake up again at 3 or 4 in the morning.

He asked Huazi, is it true that people sleep less as they get older? Does this have a bad effect on the body? Huazi said that good sleep can allow the brain to get enough rest. If you don't sleep well for a long time, it will affect your memory and cognition, and it will also cause high blood pressure and affect cardiovascular health.

1. Why do you have trouble sleeping?

More than half of people over 60 will have sleep disorders. There are many factors that cause this. With aging, brain function deteriorates, and sleep regulation becomes worse, which is a common reason. Another reason is that after retirement, people are freed from decades of work and feel "at a loss". They are prone to anxiety and depression, which can also lead to sleep disorders.

Some people may suffer from osteoporosis, especially menopausal women. Excessive loss of bone calcium can cause chronic bone and muscle pain, affecting sleep. Men may have prostate hyperplasia, which causes more frequent urination at night and also affects sleep.

2. You don’t have to insist on getting 8 hours of sleep

It should be noted that many people only have shorter sleep time but do not have sleep disorders. This is because it is not necessary to sleep for 8 hours to be considered a healthy sleep. In the health education we have received since childhood, the theory of "8 hours of sleep" has been deeply rooted in people's minds. But in fact, this is just a suggestion, not a hard rule.

Sleep time is related to age and genes. In the "Healthy China Action (2019-2030)", the recommendations for sleep time are that primary school students need 10 hours of sleep, junior high school students 9 hours of sleep, high school students 8 hours of sleep, and the average sleep time for adults is 7-8 hours.

That is to say, as we age, sleep time will decrease, and the elderly will sleep even less. In fact, most adults can achieve good sleep quality by sleeping 6 to 7 hours a day, and even people with NPSR1 receptor gene mutations only need 4 hours of sleep a day.

So don’t feel anxious because you sleep less. If you feel energetic, focused, and not uncomfortable after waking up, then it’s okay to sleep less. However, if you still feel “fatigued” after getting up, and are easily tired and sleepy during the day, and take naps, then it means that your sleep quality is not good enough.

3. How to improve your sleep

1. Develop good sleeping habits: You need to develop good sleeping habits. Don’t watch TV, play with your phone, or do other things that are not related to sleep when you are in bed. Let yourself form the subconscious mind of "sleep after going to bed".

2. Increase the amount of exercise: Increasing the amount of exercise can improve the difficulty in falling asleep, but it should be noted that you should not do strenuous exercise within 2 hours before going to bed, otherwise it will make your nerves excited and aggravate the difficulty in falling asleep.

3. Refuse to drink refreshing drinks: Do not drink coffee, strong tea and other refreshing drinks before going to bed. Do not drink alcohol before going to bed. Alcohol has a biphasic effect of inhibition and excitement on the central nervous system. Although it can promote sleep, it will lead to poor sleep quality.

4. Don’t eat too late: Don’t eat dinner too late, and don’t eat 2 hours before going to bed, otherwise food will stimulate the digestive system, excite the nerves, and make it difficult to fall asleep.

5. A good sleeping environment: If the light outside the window is too bright, you need to prepare a light-blocking curtain to prevent the light from affecting the secretion of melatonin. The mattress and pillow should be moderately soft and hard. If financial conditions allow, try to buy better bedding, after all, one-third of your life will be spent in bed.

6. Learn to concentrate: Don’t think about random things before going to bed, especially things that make you angry or anxious. People who have the habit of thinking about random things can prepare a small speaker and play some sounds such as waves, wind, birdsong or white noise to help themselves concentrate and avoid the intrusion of negative emotions.

7. Treat underlying diseases: If sleep disorders are caused by physical illness, the underlying disease needs to be actively treated.

8. Use drugs to help: People with severe sleep disorders can use sleeping pills under the guidance of a doctor. Those who have difficulty falling asleep can use fast-acting drugs such as zolpidem and eszopiclone; those who wake up early can use drugs with longer acting time such as diazepam, alprazolam, and clonazepam.

Some people suffer from insomnia caused by anxiety or depression, so they need to see a psychological clinic and receive anti-anxiety and anti-depression treatment to improve their symptoms.

To sum up, as people age, their sleep time will gradually decrease, so it is common for people to have sleep disorders after the age of 60. Long-term poor sleep will cause damage to cognition, memory, and cardiovascular system. As long as you find the reasons that affect your sleep and actively intervene, the problem of sleep disorders will be well solved. I am pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.