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Key Takeaways
Not getting enough sleep?
You might be able to blame your age.
At around age 50, people might start sleeping more again.
Egoitz Bengoetxea Iguaran / Getty Images
Researchers say the trend may be influenced by a combination of biological and lifestyle factors.
Butsleep duration doesnt necessarily equate to quality of sleep, which appears to decline as people grow older.
The study evaluated data from over 11,000 people ages 6 and older.
Participants wore a rig called an accelerometer on their wrists to track movement.
The data, collected between 2011 and 2014, included sleep duration, bedtime, and sleep efficiency.
People who are shortchanged on bedtime are burning the candle at both ends, McCall said.
And their sleep efficiency can be very, very high.
However, it doesn’t mean they’re asleep for longer.
Older people sometimes complain that they can’t sleep through the night anymore, McCall said.
Findings showed that 20-year-olds had the latest bedtimes.
School-aged and working-aged people displayed the most extreme variations in weekly sleep patterns versus weekend sleep patterns.
The study did not evaluate time spent napping or the depth of sleep.
How Can You Tell If You’re Getting ‘Good’ Sleep?
Everybody’s made a little bit differently, he said.
My message to folks is that yes, sleep at night is very important.
But the real measure of its effectiveness is how you feel during the day.
What matters more is how well you sleep and how you feel during the day.
doi:10.1038/s41598-022-11848-8
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National Institutes of Health.Gene identified in people who need little sleep.
