Are you spending too much time in bed? Do you know how much ‘shut-eye- you should be getting each night?
Australia’s Sleep Health Foundation has adopted recommendations from America’s National Sleep Foundation, which is broken down into age-specific guidelines.
The new sleep code is based on a review of 312 studies over the last decade.
The Sleep Health Foundation’s sleep psychologist Professor Dorothy Bruck says it’s exciting to be able to offer Australians new guidelines based on hard evidence.
“People are endlessly interested in how much sleep they should be getting each night, even though what the individual feels they need often varies a lot from person to person,” Prof Bruck says. “We are now armed with some clear, science-based sleep times that many people will find interesting and reassuring.”
The guidelines recommend those aged 18 to 64 – get seven to nine hours’ sleep a night, which is the same as originally promoted.
Newborns should be getting 14-17 hours’ sleep a day, a narrower range than the previously recommended 12-18 hours; infants should sleep 12-15 hours (a change from 14-15 hours); toddlers 11-14 hours (a change from 12-14); and pre-schoolers 10-13 hours (a change from 11-13).
School children are now deemed okay on as little as 9 hours sleep (now 9-11 hours, before 10-11 hours) while teenagers should get anything from 8 to 10 hours (a change from 8.5-9.5 hours).
Until now, the official guide has recommended all adults get 7-9 hours’ sleep, but now older adults are advised to get just 7 or 8 hours shut-eye daily.
Professor Bruck says this is where the most interesting change is. She said in her experience many older people, particularly those reporting insomnia, spend too long in bed. That’s because as you age your body clock tends to prefer that you go to bed earlier, but many seniors still expect to wake up at the same time they used to when they were younger.
The Sleep Health Foundation’s 2013 survey of sleep habits confirms this, with nearly a third of those aged over 65 complaining of waking too early and 40 per cent saying that wake up a lot during the night.
“Many older people are spending 10 hours in bed and possibly fretting that they should be sleeping that whole time,” the researcher says.
This trend is reflected in a newly-published Victoria University study led by Prof Bruck that found Australians of all ages have an unrealistic idea of sleep, believing wrongly that healthy sleep should involve no awakenings at night.
“We know that it is quite normal at all ages to wake up several times during the night, and older adults are more likely to wake more often. The important thing is to realise that this is normal and not worry about it.
“These new guidelines can give many older people the confidence to know they don’t have a sleep problem. It’s simply that they just don’t require as much sleep as they used to need in middle age.”
The Sleep Health Foundation suggests people frustrated by their early waking should try going to bed several hours later.
“That will help consolidate sleep and dramatically cut back time spent thrashing about in bed feeling like you should be asleep,” Prof Bruck says.
Article provided by The Retiree Magazine www.the-retiree.com.au