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As people age, the quality of their sleep is often adversely affected. In many cases, this is due to insomnia that may cause people to feel tired during the day. In other cases, older people may be diagnosed with other sleep disorders.

Many older people sleep well. A recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation found that older people in good health, with a high quality of life, may actually sleep better than younger people. However, many other older people do not get quality sleep on a consistent basis. This is especially true of those who have various physical and mental health conditions.

Contrary to popular myth, older people do not require less sleep than younger people. Instead, all adults require between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. However, many older adults struggle to obtain adequate sleep. A survey of adults over the age of 65 found that 13 percent of men and 36 percent of women take more than a half-hour to fall asleep, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Once older people do fall asleep, their sleep often tends to be more shallow than that of younger people. Sleep consists of five stages. The first four stages are called non-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The fourth stage of non-REM sleep is called delta sleep, and is the deepest stage of sleep. It is also the stage in which growth hormone, which regulates cell division and protein synthesis necessary for growth, is produced. Older people tend to spend less time in this stage of sleep than younger people.

 The fifth stage of sleep is called REM sleep. It is the stage in which dreaming occurs. Older people spend a similar amount of time in REM sleep as younger people, although they do tend to wake more often during the night than younger people.

Older adults who experience reduced sleep quality are more likely to be irritable and to be affected by various conditions, including depression, attention and memory problems, daytime drowsiness, and falling at night. In addition, people who have a poor sleep quality are more likely to use over-the-counter or prescription sleeping pills, which sometimes cause adverse health effects.

Some older adults have sleep problems that are significant enough to be diagnosed as sleep disorders. According to the NIH, the most common sleep disorders among older adults are:

• Insomnia. Nearly half of all adults age 60 and older experience some form of insomnia. There are many potential insomnia triggers, but the need to use the bathroom is the most common insomnia source among older adults. Increased prostate size typically causes older men to have to urinate more often, whereas incontinence often occurs in older women. When older adults wake frequently at night, they are also at increased risk of falling.
  
  
• Breathing problems. Many older people experience breathing problems during sleep that interfere with the ability to get proper rest. Snoring and sleep apnea (in which patients temporarily stop breathing during sleep) are examples of breathing problems that are more likely to occur in older people. Among people over age 65, 28 percent of males and 24 percent of females experience sleep apnea, according to the National Sleep Foundation. This condition has also been shown to increase the risk of falling asleep while driving by three to seven times.
  
  
• Movement disorders. Older adults are more likely to experience involuntary movement disorders, such as restless leg syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). RLS causes feelings of discomfort in the legs that occur continuously when the body is at rest. It affects more than 20 percent of people age 80 and older, according to the NIH. PLMD causes patients to periodically and rapidly move their legs when the body is asleep. About 80 percent of people with RLS also have PLMD, according to the National Sleep Foundation. A condition that affects the muscles during REM sleep called rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder typically affects men over the age of 50. This disorder causes patients to physically act out their dreams, and patients may cause self-injury or injury to others.