Sleeping and Becoming a Senior?

fureverywhere

fureverywhere

beloved friend who will always be with us in spiri
Location
Northern NJ, USA
As a teen and twenty-something and between a dozen doughnuts and a pack of smokes...you could sleep four hours and be bright as a daisy. Twenty something to thirty something and you had little ones mewing and puking. You were a zombie but maybe six hours if you slept with the nursing one. Fast forward and the "baby" is 16. You are 54 and a variety of meds.

Almost 2am and you are wide awake. My grandmother...my Dad would call her middle of the night and she'd be baking or cleaning...is this part of aging? Then in the morning a double shot expresso gets you breathing again...this sucks.
 

For many of us, sleep tends to become more fragmented as we get older. It would be nice to be able to sleep the eight hours at a stretch that I once did, but if I can sleep six I consider it rare and regard myself to be doing well; naps become more needed and frequent. Some medications also contribute to this effect.
 
Hmm, like an old dog, I sleep a lot and nap a lot...
 

Yes, this is something I've noticed too. I try to get plenty of fresh air during the day and avoid naps so that sleep comes a bit easier by bedtime!
 
At someone's suggestion (probably on this forum), about a month ago I started using a melatonin supplement along with a calcium/magnesium/zinc/D supplement about an hour before I wanted to go bed. It's helped me sleep better and stay on a more consistent sleep schedule and is working well for me. I set a 9 pm alarm on my phone to remind me to take them and take them between 8:30 pm and 9:00 pm. I'm usually in bed by 10 and asleep within a few minutes. That's a big improvement for me.
 
Since I stopped working I sleep when I'm tired and keep no real schedule.

I am up puttering around in the middle of the night and sound asleep during the day, in total I get about 9 hours sleep a day.

It works for me but my schedule seems to bother some people, not sure why.
 
Sleep can be elusive for sure. I take Melatonin nightly and make sure not to use any backlit devices at least two hours before bedtime. A daily walk and 1 to 2 hours of reading before bedtime helps me too. When I have more difficulty, I take 1 or 2 Benadryl and that works very well, but I avoid doing taking it for more than 2 nights in a row lest I get lost in a Benadryl fog in the morning.
 
Aunt Bea said:
Since I stopped working I sleep when I'm tired and keep no real schedule.

I am up puttering around in the middle of the night and sound asleep during the day, in total I get about 9 hours sleep a day.

It works for me but my schedule seems to bother some people, not sure why.
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Sleeping when I'm tired, rather than on a schedule works for me too. Do you mean bother them when they try it, or bother them when they find out you follow it? ;)
 
NancyNGA said:
Sleeping when I'm tired, rather than on a schedule works for me too. Do you mean bother them when they try it, or bother them when they find out you follow it? ;)
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It seems to bother some members of my family that I don't follow a standard routine. I just chuckle to myself because these are the same folks that fall asleep in the recliner or on the couch instead of just going to bed.

"Chacun à son goût!" said the old lady as she kissed the cow!
 
I agree that not being on a schedule is wonderful for sleep. It allows me to indulge in reading late into the night and then waking up whenever. I never commit to anything before 10 am.
 
Shalimar said:
I have been an insomniac since thirty. I am a serial napper.
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Our cats are recreational sleepers.

Now, if I can stay asleep for 6 hours straight, I consider that a good night. When I was in my 20s and 30's I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. On the other hand, I sort of like being a night owl. I can get my reading and catching up on internet stuff done leisurely and without interruption.
 
Bedtime is between 10:30-11:00 p.m.
Awake time is between 3:00-4:00 a.m.

Being an airline pilot for 34 years and this was a way of life for me. I have not been able to alter it, so I have given up and just go with it. Usually, I do grab a half hour of shuteye about mid-morning. My first flight out was generally between 5:30-6:30 a.m.
 
I had completely misplaced my sleepy meds...I just found them
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I've been sleeping much better since I started using this little thingy that I stick in my nose to breathe better. I tried the BreathRite strips but about an hour or two after I'd go to sleep...TWANGGGG!!!...the adhesive would give up the ghost. So I found something that you stick IN your nose. Took a little getting used to, but MAN can I breathe better at night. Still can't go to sleep until at least midnight, though, and I DO love an afternoon nap.
 
In my senior years, my sleep is affected by various concerns. I was officially diagnosed with Sleep Apnea in 2000. I haven't always followed through with all the recommended treatment. I'm not getting enough oxygen during my sleep. I should see a doctor and get an oxygen enricher to work together with my BiPap machine. Now I'm also being plagued by Urinary Retention. Sometimes I need to get up 2-3 times a night, to take care of "mother nature." But then nothing happens. Instead, I lose circulation in my legs if I sit on the toilet too long!

I try to keep a semi-regular sleeping schedule. Maybe I try to get to bed by 10-11PM. But some nights, I'm already falling asleep by 8-9PM. If I go to bed at 9PM, I'll likely awake by 3AM. Then I can't get back to sleep. I've pretty much resigned myself to taking a nap during the day. But sometimes I'm exhausted and still can't get to sleep.
 
A nice siesta is pleasant interlude that isn't interrupted by that old devil work if you are properly retired.



Never, ever take a sleeping med and a laxative at the same time.
 
Sleep has definitely been getting worse as I've gotten older. I take Melatonin every night and have started reading in bed before turning out the light (right now making my way through Springsteen's autobiography, "Born to Run"). For some time during my working days I took Ambien a few nights each week, but gave it up. These days it's not unusual for me to wake up around 2:00 and not be able to fall back to sleep for over an hour. My mind won't shut off. I seem to function well on about six hours of sleep.
 
I get more sleep now that I'm retired than I did getting up super early for work all those years. I usually get around 8 hours, sometimes I'm up for a couple of hours in bed and will just put the tiny radio under my pillow so I don't disturb my husband, listen to a talk show like Coast to Coast if they're talking about anything interesting. Some nights I take a 1mg. sublingual Melatonin, and sometimes I'll take 1/2 of an over the counter Unisom tablet. Never take daytime naps.
 

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