There are many disadvantages to getting older. One of them is poor sleep. But although there are many reasons sleep may deteriorate as you age, it does not have to be that way.<\/p>\n
\u201cFundamentally, your sleep doesn\u2019t have to change in your sixties or seventies, but circumstances tend to create a lot more vulnerability around that ageing point,\u201d says Jason Ellis, a professor and director of the Northumbria Centre for Sleep Research at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the challenge we have for older adults is they\u2019re being taught this is normal \u2013 \u2018Oh, it\u2019s normal that you shouldn\u2019t sleep well, just as it\u2019s normal you should have aches and pains\u2019. That\u2019s not true.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vulnerability is there, but it\u2019s not a fait accompli. It doesn\u2019t mean that every older adult shouldn\u2019t have good sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lisa Artis, deputy chief executive of The Sleep Charity in the UK, adds: \u201cIt\u2019s important to stress that poor sleep is not an inevitable part of ageing. While sleep patterns change, persistent sleep difficulties shouldn\u2019t simply be accepted as \u2018just getting older\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/div>Both experts agree that certain vulnerabilities make older people more susceptible to sleep problems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n