Sleep and Aging (Question)

[kevsworld]

Hey guys,
A while back I wrote about the importance of sleep for healthy t levels (you can see the article here: http://musclereview.net/sleep-muscle/)

Anyway, I seem to be noticing a change with my body and sleep cycles as I age. I've noticed I'll tend to wake up at a certain time in the morning, regardless of when I go to bed (even when I don't have to get up). In other words, my sleep cycle isn't nearly as flexible as it used to be--I have a hard time compensating for staying up late because I'll still wake up at a certain time.

Fortunately my wife and I usually get to bed at a decent hour, so it doesn't cause issues with training, energy, etc.

Anyone else experiencing this?

[EjnarKolinkar]

Body temperature and Circadian rhythm change with age. Mine has not changed much since I was in early 20's. I fully expect to be eating dinner at Furr's Cafeteria at 3:00 PM and going to bed at 6:30PM when I am 80 though. Bright side grocery shopping at 3:30 AM, no lines, or so my mother-in-law says.

[tsoden]

Bright side grocery shopping at 3:30 AM, no lines, or so my mother-in-law says.

....but is the produce fresh?

[Payton1221]

I've never had a problem going to sleep, but after 40, I noticed that when I occasionally woke up in the middle of the night that it was taking longer to fall back to sleep. My wife experienced the same thing. We started taking a mild sleeping pill before bedtime, and that has helped tremendously.

[libertino85]

I started taking a B-12 shot a few months ago and noticed that it decreased my need for sleep! I stopped the monthly shot but I still wake up very early in the A.M. (sometimes as early as 4:30 A.M.)...

I think it also might have to do with my age being that I'm 45...

[jimgoa]

This is my first post - just joined yesterday!

I have never slept very well ever but since I was 40 (now 43) the length of my sleep seems to be tapering off already. I too often wake up at 4.30 and 5.00 in the morning and feel so wide awake it's impossible to get back to sleep. I'm pleased that I'm not the only one who is finding this change in sleeping pattern in their 40s.

Cheers all

Jim

[MichaelKennedy]

Well, I'm only 36, but I've always suffered with different bouts of insomnia due to stress and environment. However, I've invested in a bottle dropper full of magnesium, called Mega-Mag, which I take an hour or two before bed. I just fill the dropper full of the stuff, put it in my water bottle, and drink it up. It tastes like drinking warm spit, but it works. About an hour later, I'm fully relaxed, no stress and could go to sleep peacefully about any time after that.

Try that if you want a more natural method for falling asleep. It works for me. One side note: It'll make you dream....things.

[gixxer0.6g]

I'm almost 33 and I think it's time for some ******.

A typical night of sleep for me. Wake up 3-4 times. Takes me 1-2 hrs to fall asleep. Joy.

Last night was the best all week. 45% deep sleep. Not bad. I'm usually in the low 30's.

[Manospeed]

One word guys..."Melatonin"

Circadian rhythm
In humans, melatonin is produced by the pineal gland, a small endocrine gland[25] located in the center of the brain but outside the blood–brain barrier. The melatonin signal forms part of the system that regulates the sleep-wake cycle by chemically causing drowsiness and lowering the body temperature, but it is the central nervous system (specifically the suprachiasmatic nuclei, or SCN)[25] that controls the daily cycle in most components of the paracrine and endocrine systems[26][27] rather than the melatonin signal (as was once postulated).

Infants' melatonin levels become regular in about the third month after birth, with the highest levels measured between midnight and 08:00 (8 AM).[28]
In humans, 90% of melatonin is cleared in a single passage through the liver, a small amount is excreted in urine,[29] and a small amount is found in saliva.
Human melatonin production decreases as a person ages.[30] It is believed that as children become teenagers, the nightly schedule of melatonin release is delayed, leading to later sleeping and waking times.[31]

[edit]Light dependence
Production of melatonin by the pineal gland is inhibited by light to the retina and permitted by darkness. Its onset each evening is called the dim-light melatonin onset (DLMO).

It is principally blue light, around 460 to 480 nm, that suppresses melatonin,[32] increasingly with increased light intensity and length of exposure. Until recent history, humans in temperate climates were exposed to few hours of (blue) daylight in the winter; their fires gave predominantly yellow light.

Wearing glasses that block blue light in the hours before bedtime may avoid melatonin loss. Kayumov et al. showed that light containing only wavelengths greater than 530 nm does not suppress melatonin in bright-light conditions.[33] Use of blue-blocking goggles the last hours before bedtime has also been advised for people who need to adjust to an earlier bedtime, as melatonin promotes sleepiness. [34]

When used several hours before sleep according to the phase response curve for melatonin in humans, small amounts of melatonin shift the circadian clock earlier, thus promoting earlier sleep onset and morning awakening.[35]

[drudixon]

Maybe DLMO is why I can sleep any time anywhere. My rods are all dead.

[jwshumate]

Hey guys,
A while back I wrote about the importance of sleep for healthy t levels (you can see the article here: http://musclereview.net/sleep-muscle/)

Anyway, I seem to be noticing a change with my body and sleep cycles as I age. I've noticed I'll tend to wake up at a certain time in the morning, regardless of when I go to bed (even when I don't have to get up). In other words, my sleep cycle isn't nearly as flexible as it used to be--I have a hard time compensating for staying up late because I'll still wake up at a certain time.

Fortunately my wife and I usually get to bed at a decent hour, so it doesn't cause issues with training, energy, etc.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Don't have much trouble falling asleep, usually awaken twice nightly to hit the head, but mostly no trouble going back to sleep.

For times that I can't sleep, one dose of liquid melatonin plus two tryptophan capsules does the trick nicely, this was recommended by a neurologist. Make sure it's liquid melatonin.

[tobymax123]

Anyway, I seem to be noticing a change with my body and sleep cycles as I age. I've noticed I'll tend to wake up at a certain time in the morning, regardless of when I go to bed (even when I don't have to get up). In other words, my sleep cycle isn't nearly as flexible as it used to be--I have a hard time compensating for staying up late because I'll still wake up at a certain time.

I experience the same thing. No matter what time I go to bed I wake up between 6 and 6:15am. Haven't used an alarm clock in years, except for those times that I need to get up early for some reason. Our dog who sleeps under the bed usually wakes up around the same time and jumps up on the bed, but if he stays up late then he sleeps late. Since I usually stay up later on Fri & Sat night and still wake up early, I like to have an afternoon nap on Sat & Sun.

[Wayne Evans]

Well...I've had big sleep problems since my military picnic.

Given that, I've noticed over the last 10 years or so my sleep habits have gotten worse.
Meaning, waking up twice a night to pee and always having trouble going back to sleep.
In the last week I've woke twice at 03:30 and finally just got up and started the coffee brewing.
Of course, that makes me get groggy during the day but I unable to take (the obligatory old age) naps very well.
Hence, much of the time I just don't feel totally rested after waking up.

The melatonin does have it's place for me but I've never used it every night which is not to say that would be unhealthy or problematic.
I've done some web research and sleep habits do change as we age and I'm certainly pissed off by it.

Carry on...

[Phattso]

I have always had problems sleeping since my 20s. I take ZMA and also Melatonin about 1 hour before bed and it seems to help.

[redcaesar]

Very interesting... My Naturaopath put me on magnisium caps to see if it would help bring my blood pressure down... Going to try taking it at night see if it helps me fall asleep.

Well, I'm only 36, but I've always suffered with different bouts of insomnia due to stress and environment. However, I've invested in a bottle dropper full of magnesium, called Mega-Mag, which I take an hour or two before bed. I just fill the dropper full of the stuff, put it in my water bottle, and drink it up. It tastes like drinking warm spit, but it works. About an hour later, I'm fully relaxed, no stress and could go to sleep peacefully about any time after that.

Try that if you want a more natural method for falling asleep. It works for me. One side note: It'll make you dream....things.

[Rondori]

I've recently read that people who sleep five hours have the best survival rate...I loved hearing this since I never sleep 8 or even 7 hours and don't want to. I get by on little sleep and feel good. I think the sleep need is individual

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-livin...162100818.html

[BloodySalad]

One word guys..."Melatonin"

Actually, I'll give you another one... "Kids".

Nothing and I mean nothing has affected my sleeping pattern as much as having kids.
Prior to them arriving on the scene, I could sleep in all day, sleep all night, get up early, stay up all night. It didn't matter. My body would pretty much do what I wanted it to.

Now though? Up at 6:30am and bed at 11:00pm like clockwork. Even if they're staying with relations, my body still reacts the same way.

[cryoung]

Same here but it goes in cycles. I will go for a long period where I can sleep through the night but others where I'll wake up a few hours into my sleep with the restless leg thing. I did start tonic water before bed and that worked pretty good, also hit the hot tub before bed and that really relaxes me.

Last, I did have a sleep study done and, although only minor, I do have interruptions so I am on a CPAP....it really seems to help overall. I do feel more alert and have slept through the night way more since starting to use it a few months ago.

[kasia29]

No lines at 3:30 am, unless it is a Super WalMart

As I write this at 4am. What sleeping problems?

Besides the fore mentioned melatonin drop which brings on the more fragmented sleeps cycles, and the Circadian rhythm, your body produces lower levels of growth hormone as we age, so you’ll likely experience a decrease in slow wave or deep sleep. The obvious, stress, health and lack of physicsl activity (which none of us here can be acused of) can play a big role in the loss of sleep. However, we still sleep about 7.5 hours as we age, just the quality may be altered by the frequency of interruptions and the inability to fall back to sleep. Medications for all kinds of age related ailments can also cause sleep disruptions. As can the boudoir. It helps to have shades or light blocking curtains, quiet environment and the temperature to be on the cool side. Not to mention that in our busy lives we use the bedroom for more than its intended purposes, those being sleep and sex.
Now back to melatonin. Natural sunlight regulates the bodys levels of melatonin. We tend to spend a lot of our time indoors, working, or working out. Therefore exposure to at least 90 to 120 minuts of sinlight is important to regulating/producing enough melatonin. That can be difficult as the days get shorter in the fall and winter months. Therefore you might notice that your sleep pattern changes coincide with the seasons. Artifical light at night can surpress your melatonin levels as well. That includes backlit devices as ipads and laptops, especially if you use them beforee bed.
So bottom line, no it is not unusual to start noticing a change in your sleep as you age. But waking up tired, disturbed sleep and other insomnia symptoms are not normal. Just like we control the other aspects of our aging bodies with excercise and healthy eating, sleep should be no problem if you tackle it with the right tools. And as with trining and nutrition, what works for one does not necesarily work for another. Maybe tweaking or eliminating some things I mentioned will help your sleep patterns. Otherwise I hear that grocery shopping at 3:30 am has it's benefits.