• Take A Warm Bath Before Bed
  • With your doctor’s approval, take a warm bath (100°F.) just before going to bed. This will send blood away from the brain to skin surfaces and make you feel relaxed and drowsy.
  • Establish a sleeping routine and a bedtime ritual, such as light reading before sleeping.
  • Limit Your Time In Bed
  • Stress, depression, boredom, and partner pressure may have you going to bed earlier than you need. Older people, fearing a night of interrupted or light sleep, often go to bed too early. This adds to the problems of fragmented sleep. Staying in bed too long will promote shallow and disturbed sleep.

In addition to following sleep tips to achieve a quality night’s sleep, seniors should also:

  • Restrict Caffeinated Beveages, Tobacco and Alcohol
  • Restrict caffeine intake after 2 P.M. As we get older, coffee, tea, soda and chocolate may make it more difficult to stay asleep. Do not smoke.Avoid any alcohol within three hours of bedtime. It may cause you to wake up, snore, or exacerbate sleep apnea.
  • Monitor Prescriptions
  • Consult your physician about the sleep side effects of medications.Although some drugs can make it easier to fall asleep, they often cause light and fragmented sleep, as well as early awakenings.
  • Get Outdoors During The Day
  • Studies have shown that exposure to external light during the daytime results in better
    nighttime sleep.
  • Stay Physically Active
  • A late-afternoon or early-evening stroll will help you sleep more deeply at night.
  • Stay Mentally Active
  • Engage in hobbies, academic courses, volunteer work, and social activities that will keep you mentally alert in the day time and early evening.
  • Limit Naps
  • Avoiding daytime naps can help ensure better sleep at night. If you feel the need to take a daytime nap, limit it to 20 minutes. Longer naps may make it more difficult to sleep at night.

  • Your Mattress

Does your mattress provide you with a restful, quality night’s sleep? If you’re not sleeping on a Simmons® Beautyrest® sleep system, you may not be getting quality sleep. And because seniors can have trouble sleeping due to chronic illnesses, there is a greater need to be sleeping on a Beautyrest® mattress.

The average person tosses and turns 40-60 times per night. And 70% of the time their partner moves with them. * All this partner movement can reduce deep sleep. It’s at the heart of a good night’s sleep: The Beautyrest® Pocketed Coil® Design and Innovative TwoStory® Coil on Coil Design. Each individually wrapped coil moves independently, so you sleep peacefully through every move your partner makes. It’s the ideal mattress for you and your partner to experience truly peaceful sleep and feel refreshed the next day.

One out of every two seniors suffers from sleep deprivation. * It’s a hidden health problem that has nothing to do with just getting old. Seniors are falling asleep during the day because they aren’t getting enough quality nocturnal sleep.

It’s not just the aging process itself but ailments associated with aging, such as arthritis, physical disabilities, and respiratory problems like sleep apnea, depression and prescription medication that can rob seniors of quality sleep.

While the need for sleep does not change with age, sleep patterns do. The biological clock that controls the body’s sleep advances by a few hours, as a person grows older. By observing sleep patterns and making lifestyle changes, seniors can help keep their internal clocks on time and overcome sleep problems. *

  • Get An Adequate Amount Of Sleep
  • Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep nightly.
  • Maintain a constant sleep-wake schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning, Monday through Monday, including weekends.
  • Reduce Stress
  • Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
  • Close your eyes and first tense, then relax all of your muscles, beginning with your toes and progressing to your face. Stay relaxed.
  • Breathe in easily through your nose.
  • Continue This for Ten to Twenty Minutes.
  • Keep To A Healthy Diet
  • Eat vegetables and fruits, whole grain cereals and breads, rice, pasta, fish and poultry. Limit your fat intake and avoid fried foods.
  • Have a basic healthy breakfast, a substantial lunch, and a light dinner.
  • Stay away from foods that cause indigestion, gas, or heartburn.

*Sleep behavior statistics and sleep tips from Power Sleep: The Revolutionary Program That Prepares Your Mind for Peak Performance, by Dr. James B. Maas, Ph.D., Megan L.Wherry, David J. Axelrod, Barbara R. Hogan, and Jennifer A. Blumin, HarperPerennial- A Division of HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.