Understanding Sleep Needs: Who Requires More Rest Across Different Age Groups

The question of who needs more sleep might not come up in everyday conversations, but it’s an important topic that impacts health and well-being across all age groups. Whether you're a young adult, an older adult, a man, or a woman, understanding the unique sleep needs of different demographics can help you prioritize better rest and improve your overall sleep hygiene.

Sleep is essential for physical, mental, and emotional health, but the amount required varies depending on factors like age and lifestyle. Knowing how much sleep you need—and why it matters—can empower you to make smarter choices for your nightly routine and overall well-being.

Let’s dive into who needs more sleep, the factors that influence sleep requirements, and practical tips to ensure you’re getting the rest you need.

Young Adults

So who needs more sleep - young adults or older adults? A good night of rest is crucial for optimal health regardless of your age, but something that is interesting to note is that, regardless of your age and gender, overall health might also be an indicator of how much sleep you get on your new organic mattress and how much you require - not just the other way around.

In fact, some studies suggest that people who are already in good health need about twenty minutes less sleep per night than adults who may have sleep disorders or other ailments.

Many older people say that they have trouble sleeping - or often, simply that they don’t need as much sleep. But is this true?

Not really. In fact, most studies have proven that younger and older adults alike need about the same amount of sleep. It’s hard to determine how much sleep people of different ages need. You can always measure how many hours of sleep people get - and if you find that older adults tend to log less time between the sheets, that might cause you to believe that they need less sleep as a result.

That’s not always the case, though. Older people need the same amount of sleep as younger people - they just might not be getting it. In short, older people need to sleep and will feel sleepy just as often as young adults, but the time of day at which this sleepiness strikes will likely be quite different.

Older Adults

So if older adults need as much sleep as younger adults, why aren’t they getting it? There are several hypotheses as to why this might be the case. Sometimes people assume that older adults can't sleep well at night because they’ve spent so much time napping during the day. However, this isn’t inherently a part of aging.

Other studies have questioned whether the simple process of aging has the ability to disrupt your circadian rhythm. Some people believe that aging can cause you to wake earlier than you naturally should, making you want to get up earlier in the morning but feel more tired early at night.

You still need the same amount of sleep as you did when you were younger - but since your sleep quality isn’t as good, you’ll have to steal the shut-eye whenever and wherever you can.

There are other changes at play here, too. In middle age, it could be that various processes that help you move through stages of slow-wave sleep begin to change and weaken. As you get older, it’s harder to stay asleep - and because of that, you might have a harder time staying awake during the day, too.

Older adults generally need more or less the same amount of sleep as younger adults - in most cases. Older adults who have sleep disorders may have trouble managing other conditions, according to studies conducted by the National Sleep Foundation. This same study polled adults on their sleep habits and found that up to 44% of older adults experienced one or more regular symptoms of insomnia, as often as a few nights per week or even more.

Insomnia can be chronic or acute, with its length varying widely among people who experience it. Typically, it is connected to some sort of underlying cause, either medical or psychiatric.

All other factors aside, older adults need roughly the same amount of sleep as young adults, around seven to nine hours per night.

The problem here arises when you consider that many older adults suffer from ailments that make falling asleep and staying asleep harder. A study of adults aged 65 and up found that a whopping 49% of them have trouble falling asleep - taking more than half an hour to do so. The figure is nearly double for women as it is for men.

Another issue that arises as you age is that older adults typically sleep less deeply and wake up more frequently during the night. This could be why naps are so crucial during the daytime hours for these individuals.

Not only that, but many older adults find that their nighttime sleep schedules change as they age, too, getting sleepier earlier in the evening but waking up early in the morning.

Some people assume that getting older naturally indicates and causes a decline in sleep. This is not always the case. Your sleep patterns will likely change as you age, but waking up tired each day and experiencing regular bouts of disturbed sleep is not normal. If you are an older adult and find that falling or staying asleep is a challenge (or that you struggle with daytime sleepiness) you may want to mention it to your doctor or visit a sleep specialist.

For both younger and older adults, there are simple tips you can follow to get a better night’s sleep. One of these is to head to bed and try to get up at the same time each and every day - es, even on the weekends! When you’re able to stick to a regular wake-up time and bedtime, your body’s circadian rhythm will be better kept in check. Altering your sleep routine too much on the weekends can throw you off.

If you can avoid it, try not to nap too much during the day, as this can cause you to be less sleepy at night. Of course, you may find that you need to catch a few daytime zzz’s every now and then, and that’s fine - just keep the nap short, around twenty minutes or so.

Get some natural light each afternoon, whenever possible, and try to squeeze in some exercise. Finish your workout about three hours before you plan to head to bed so you aren’t overstimulated. Of course, you should be careful about what you eat and drink, too.

Caffeine is the obvious culprit, as it’s a stimulant that can keep you awake long into the evening hours. However, there are other sleep quality killers you should avoid, too - alcohol is one example. While it might seem like alcohol helps you drift off faster, that’s not usually the case. You’ll fall asleep, but it will be a light sleep, and you’ll have a harder time entering into the deeper stages of sleep that are necessary for restorative slumber.

Cigarettes are something else you should avoid. The nicotine in cigarettes serves as a stimulant.

Try to create a safe and comfortable place to sleep in your home and develop a comforting bedtime routine. This routine should be the same every night to indicate to your body that it’s time to calm down and relax. You might read a book or soak in the bathtub.

A Healthy Sleep Routine Can Help All Ages

Remember, your bedroom should be a sleep oasis, too! The bedroom should only be used for sleeping. Make sure it is as dark as can be, and try not to spend too much time tossing and turning in bed each night. Of course, you can’t control how sleepy you feel - but if you find that you get into bed and can’t fall asleep within about 15 minutes, you may want to get up and wait to go back to bed when you get sleepy.

Finally, try to avoid stressing too much about how much sleep you get. If you can’t fall asleep, it’s not the end of the world. You can play little games with yourself to help coax your body into slumber - for example, you can tell yourself that you only have a few minutes before you need to get up and that this is just a little extra bit of a catnap.

Men

For the most part, it is believed that men need slightly less sleep than women - and this is consistent across age brackets.

There is only one exception to this. In a recent study, researchers found that men in their 40s seemed to get the least amount of sleep compared to both men and women in other age groups. This could be related to work or other life factors, but in general, is not reflective of most men of other ages.

In fact, among all age groups, you’ll naturally have a group of night owls and early risers. Among older adults, the results are more homogenous (more early risers tend to be present in this group for sure).

Women

A good night of sleep is essential for both women and men alike, but there is some evidence that women might require more sleep than men to get through the day. Without getting enough sleep, women could be susceptible to additional health risks.

Women’s brains are set up differently than men’s, often having more complex networks that require additional sleep. This is part of what makes women such efficient multitaskers - they can do a lot all at once. However, because women use more of their brains at any given time, they need more sleep than men do. In fact, although this is up for a sleep debate and hasn’t been studied extensively, it’s estimated that women need up to 20 minutes more sleep per night, on average, than men do.

It’s also believed that women who suffer from sleep deprivation are more likely to suffer from psychological distress. This can not only increase the risk of depression and heart disease, but also of mood disorders and type 2 diabetes.

Why are more women susceptible to these risks than men? It’s not fully understood, but most doctors think it has something to do with hormones.

This makes sense, especially when you consider that women are more likely to suffer from various sleep disorders at certain periods of their lives. Women tend to have higher incidences of insomnia (or difficulty falling and/or staying asleep) along with things like restless leg syndrome. All of these are more common during certain periods of life, such as menstruation, pregnancy, or lactation.

Older women aren’t off the hook, either - they’re at a greater risk of developing sleep problems due to the major physiological and hormonal changes that are occurring in their bodies. One in four women over the age of 65 are believed to be at risk for sleep apnea, while even women over the age of 50 have an elevated risk of developing this disease, too. This is believed to be because there is a significant decrease in the amount of progesterone and estrogen a woman’s body produces after she hits menopause.

Feel Well Rested With This Sleep Guide To The Proper Amount Of Sleep For All

Will the sleep debate over who needs the most sleep ever end? In a 2008 study by Brigham Women’s Hospital, people were given the chance to sleep for 16 hours a day for several days. The oldest adults - those aged 60 to 72 years old - slept for an average of seven and a half hours. The youngest - those aged 18 to 32 years old - slept nearly nine hours.

While you could easily interpret this as meaning younger people needing more sleep, there’s also the possibility that these individuals had the highest sleep debt (or that the body clocks or other medical conditions of the older adults were preventing them from sleeping more than they wanted to).

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what age you are or whether you are male or female - you’ve got to log your shut-eye! If you’re having trouble getting the rest you need, consider altering your sleep schedule to see if you can get even a few more minutes of sleep each night.

Rebekah Pierce is a professional social blogger and has worked on several online publications including Citrus Sleep. Rebekah is an experienced content writer and copyeditor. You will find many of her works throughout CitrusSleep.com that cover a wide array of subjects including sleep education, natural, sleep products, electronics, fashion and many more. She is passionate about her work and family.

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