Lao Ma is 52 years old this year and has always been in good health, but he has been a little uncomfortable lately.
During this time, his sleep has been very poor, and he always wakes up at three or four o'clock in the morning every day for no reason, and then he can't sleep again.
Because he couldn't sleep well for a long time, Lao Ma's complexion looked very bad, and he couldn't lift his spirits, and his daughter was worried when she saw her father like this, but she couldn't bear her father and refused to go to the hospital.
"What can be the problem, I know my own body, don't worry about it, it's just old, don't waste money!"
The daughter looked at her increasingly anxious father, so she sent a private message to Xiao Jiu for help. So, is it really just because the elderly wake up frequently in the early hours of the morning because they are old?
1. Why can't I sleep well when I'm old?
According to the "China Sleep Research Report (2022)", in 2021, the average daily sleep duration of mainland residents was 7.06 hours, of which the insomnia rate of the elderly was as high as 21%, about 46% of the elderly over 61 years old did not sleep well due to health problems, and 9.7% of the elderly self-rated their sleep quality was very poor. It can be seen that sleep problems are common among the elderly.
There are many reasons for the decline in sleep quality in the elderly, and the first is age. With age, the various organs of the person also age, the cerebral cortex function decreases, the metabolism slows down, and the secretion of melatonin that induces sleep decreases, so the sleep quality of the elderly will naturally decline.
Secondly, some elderly people have underlying diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, which will also affect the quality of sleep, and the influence of family or social environment, family disharmony, life pressure, etc., will also affect the overall physical and mental state of the elderly, and then affect their sleep quality.
Therefore, if you want to determine the root cause of insomnia in the elderly, it is best to go to the hospital for a check-up and find out the cause, so that you can intervene symptomatically.
Second, the elderly always wake up in the early hours of the morning when they sleep, and they must pay attention to it!
As we age, the daily routine of the elderly will also change, for example, in terms of work and rest, many people fall asleep early, but wake up at three or four in the morning, and then they can't fall asleep. So will this "wake up too early" routine affect health?
In addition, some chronic diseases can also cause early awakening, such as heart failure patients, who sleep until the middle of the night are easy to wake up due to dyspnea, and it is difficult to fall asleep after waking up.
But it's important to note that in addition to these common problems, waking up early can also be a sign of illness!
1. Kidney disease
The kidneys are an important metabolic organ in our body, and when there is a problem with the kidneys, the kidney function is impaired, and it is easy to have symptoms such as frequent urination, urgency and nocturia, which affects sleep.
2. Diabetes
Waking up often in the middle of the night is also a major manifestation of diabetic patients, because the blood sugar level is too high, beyond the reabsorption capacity of the kidneys, excess sugar will be excreted through the urine, and nocturia will increase, and many patients will also have thirst, excessive tiredness, then the quality of sleep is naturally not good.
3. Thyroid problems
The thyroid gland dominates the body's metabolism and energy levels, so when the thyroid gland has problems, it is easy to have symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety and heart palpitations, which in turn affects the quality of sleep.
4. Depression
Insomnia, easy to wake up, and once awakened, it is difficult to continue to fall asleep is a typical manifestation of depression, and long-term poor sleep quality will affect the nervous system, leading to aggravation of the disease, increasing the incidence of depression, and falling into a vicious circle.
If you have a similar situation, it may be an important signal from the body to us, we must not be careless, and take necessary measures as soon as possible to protect our health.
3. Have you met the 5 "gold standards" for good sleep?
A study published at the American College of Cardiology quantified the impact of sleep on life expectancy, confirmed Professor Matthew Walker's view, and finally summarized the 5 "gold standards" of good sleep:
1. Maintain at least 7~8 hours of sleep every night
2. Difficulty falling asleep less than 2 times a week
3. The number of insomnia is less than 2 times a week
4. You don't need to rely on sleeping pills to fall asleep peacefully
5. Wake up at least 5 days a week and feel good
Professor Matthew Walker and his team observed the health status of more than 170,000 adults with an average age of 50 years old in order to understand the impact of sleep on life expectancy.
After 5 years of follow-up, it was found that people with 5 good sleep factors had a 30% lower risk of all-cause mortality than those with 0-1 good sleep factors, a 21% lower risk of cardiovascular death, a 19% lower risk of cancer death, a 40% lower risk of death from other causes (e.g., accidents, infections, dementia, etc.), and a 4.7 years longer life expectancy for men and 2.4 years longer for women.
It can be seen that good sleep is of great significance to physical and mental health and longevity!
The graph comes from the network
In fact, it is not difficult to help the elderly improve their sleep quality, specifically: create a good bedtime atmosphere, correct bad habits (such as appropriate dinner, drink less water at night, drink less coffee and other stimulating drinks), and exercise appropriately during the day.
It should be reminded that as we age, the sleep time of the human body itself will gradually decrease, and the sleep structure will change from deep sleep to light sleep, so the sleep time and needs of different ages are different and cannot be generalized.
So, after the age of 65, what is the best sleep time? The sleep time recommended by the expert consensus of the American Sleep Association can be compared with the following figure:
Lack of sleep has a significant impact on the physical and mental health and life expectancy of the elderly, so if the elderly do not sleep well for a long time, it is best to seek medical attention in time and help the elderly overcome sleep difficulties through scientific methods, so as to help the elderly live a healthier and longer life.
Resources:
[1] "How to Improve Sleep Difficulties in the Elderly?These Four Points Are Enough", Popular Science China, 2022-08-25
[2] "Always waking up at three or four in the morning when you sleep, generally hinting at 7 major diseases, don't ignore them!". DrX says .2023-07-13
[3] "There are 5 standards for good sleep!All of them can prolong their life by 5 years compared to others!", Health Times .2023-02-28
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