These 6 senior sleep tips could save your life.
Or maybe the life of someone you love.
I was lucky. The stroke didn’t kill me.
Sadly, it didn’t change me either.
So a heart attack was sent to see if I was listening yet.
“Listening to what?” “What?
I didn’t even know a message was being sent!
My doctor never mentioned it? No one did. I had to find out on my own.
Which is why I’m writing to you now. You should know the facts before it’s too late for you or someone you love.
The facts about sleep and how important it is to our health.
Luckily, the heart attack didn’t kill me either. Maybe so I could share this with you today
Time was, I thought sleep was just for when you got tired. I thought, any of those extra hours you didn’t feel the need for, could be used to get ahead.
So I “burned the candle at both ends” as they say. I used to brag how I liked to stay up late, but I was also a morning person. I was sleeping, on average, 5 hours per night for years.
Never bothered me, except for the odd nap I would catch whenever I could.
Little did I know, all sorts of secret and silent mayhem were afoot on the inside.
Until BAM! I had a stroke.
It was over quick, I was never disabled, and there were no lasting traumas.
March on, I thought.
It was life as usual after that. Dodged a bullet. Good for me.
5 years later, I was working the garden in 90 degree heat when my heart said, “Dude, that’s enough! We’re dying in here. Stop it.”
Years of abuse had finally come to light. “The Widow Maker” they called it. But I wasn’t going yet.
At the doctor’s office, I saw this poster on the wall talking about the many benefits of sleep – and the penalties you might pay should you disregard this advice.
My name was all over it. I was the poster child for sleep abuse. But not out of any disrespect or malevolence. I just didn’t know. No one ever told me about it.
Not one doctor ever asked, “Are you getting 8 hours of sleep every night?”
Not after the stroke. Not after the heart attack. Not ever!
It’s always, cholesterol this, and blood pressure that. “Are you getting enough exercise?”
Sleep, my friends. Sleep!
For health.
Here are 6 tips every senior should know about sleep:
- Heart – Studies have shown that your risk of having a heart attack go up 20% if you get less than 7 hours of sleep per night. And in general, poor sleeping habits after the age of 55, increase your chances of an early death by 12%. Skimp on sleep at your own risk.
- Weight – sleep regulates hormones in our body that control our appetite, our cravings. And also our “full sensor” so we know when to stop eating. These get messed up if we don’t sleep enough. So we overeat, or crave foods we don’t need. Studies show those who sleep less than 8 hours per night tend to weigh more than those who DO get a good night’s sleep. Too few zzz’s can cause your body to pack on the pounds. 8 hours of sleep might be the easiest, cheapest, and healthiest diet!
- Diabetes – Insufficient sleep messes with your body’s ability to break down sugar and use it as well as it should. You raise your chances of getting Type 2 diabetes when you don’t get enough sleep.
- Brain – 2 proteins which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease, Tau and Beta-Amyloid, increase their levels up to 50% in our spinal column fluid when we are sleep deprived. Too little sleep over long periods of time can have irreversible consequences. Sufficient sleep is a must for proper brain health.
- Mental Health – sleep deprivation not only puts our physical bodes in jeopardy, but also our mental state. One bad night of sleep can leave you cranky, sluggish, and foggy headed as you head off to work or school the next day. Or drive your car. Or operate machinery. Or go up and down stairs. And that’s just one nights consequence. Poor sleep habits repeated over long periods of time can lead to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thought. Our brains need 7-8 hours of sleep each night to recharge, reset and function properly.
- The Epidemic – Apparently not enough is being done to educate the public on the importance of sleep. Or maybe it’s our “go-go-go” cultural thing. Or maybe now it’s these blasted blue-light screens keeping us up well beyond bedtime. Probably all three because 2 out of 3 adults age 55 to 64 do not get 7 hours of sleep each night. And after age 64, only 1 in 4 DO get enough sleep. 3 out of 4 don’t. 75% of seniors over 64 do not get enough sleep! That’s epidemic proportions!
How can you get more sleep?
- Be Active – it’s hard to be tired at night and ready for bed if you haven’t done anything all day long. We know the sedentary life is not healthy anyway. So here’s a chance for a two-for-one. Be more active during the day to sleep better at night. Exercise. Take the stairs. Park further away. Walk. The only caution is, don’t exercise too vigorously, too close to bedtime.
- Limit Naps – How can you expect to sleep at night if you dozed off after lunch, then again after dinner? I can always go to sleep after a good meal. But I know it’s not good. So I must force myself to get up shortly after a meal, so I don’t allow myself to drift off. Do the dishes. Take that walk. The funny thing is, once I get up, I stay up. I’m no longer interested in, nor feel the need to sleep.
- Limit Caffeine – That delicious, hot cup of coffee you just had will flood your body with a stimulant called caffeine. Ha! That’s why we drink it right! You’ll feel the effects in about 15 minutes. The effect peaks about 1 hour after you drink. Did you know, however, that caffeine has a half life of around 5 hours. This means, 5 hours after you drink that coffee, 1/2 the caffeine will be gone, and 1/2 remains active. It may take 10 hours for all the caffeine to leave your system. That’s just one cup. Concievably, that one cup, or more, you had at lunch is still haunting you at bedtime. Drink responsibly!
- Consistent Bedtimes – seems our bodies like routine. We operate on what’s called a “Circadian Rhythm” which is a natural internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle over a 24 hour period. We set it by when we go to bed and get up. Once set, the body starts playing with the chemistry to wind us down for sleep at night, then wind us up again to rise in the morning. If we keep changing the sleep and wake times, our rhythms get confused along with our chemistry and we have trouble falling asleep or getting up. Consistent, fixed bedtimes and wake times allow our bodies to assist us rather than fight us. Ultra-successful, multi-millionaire fitness buff, businessman and YouTuber, Alex Hormozi says he prefers to just keep a fixed bedtime and lets his body tell him when to wake up.
- Count – everyone has probably heard the expression”counting sheep” and automatically link it to going to sleep. This is way old, but smart, simple technology. You start counting and it causes you to fall asleep. Why? For the simple reason that it focuses your mind. It’s dull and boring. Just what you need to fall asleep. Otherwise, left to our own devices, we either re-live the day, judging good and bad and what this or that meant. Or, we concoct futures which may or may occur, then proceed to create anxiety over imaginary outcomes. Engaging the wonderfully imaginative powers of our brain at the very moment we are supposed to power it down, is folly. Counting, with its repetition, order, and focus, is something anyone can do. You’ll get tired of it. That’s the point. And you’ll fall asleep.
- Clench/Relax – I learned this long ago from famed hypnotist Marshall Silver. It’s my go-to fall asleep routine when nothing else works – because I’m just too stressed over something. or I’m just not tired. It goes like this:
- 1. Lie in bed, on your back, hands directly at your sides
- 2. Breathe 4-4-4 – Focus on breathing IN to the count of 4, HOLD for 4, EXHALE counting to 4
- 3. Starting at your toes, tighten or curl them, both feet in unison, and then relax them
- 4. Do your feet next. Tighten, move them both, fully around, then relax them.
- 5. Do your calves next, tighten them both, then relax them.
- 6. Tighten your thigh muscles next. Relax them.
- 7. Stomach next. Then chest. Shoulders. Upper arm. Lower arm. Wrists. Hands. Fingers.
- 8. Tighten your neck. Relax. Work your face muscles. Relax.
- 9 Breathe your 4-4-4 all throughout.
- 10. If, by some miracle, you get through your whole body and are not ready to instantly sleep. Start over at your feet and do it again. I have never known anyone who got through two full rounds and did not fall asleep in the process. Me included.
What to do next
You’re armed and dangerous now. You know the risks. And you have suggestions for reducing or eliminating those risks. What will you do?
I was thrice lucky. Very lucky. Dodged a stroke and The Widow Maker.
And lucky to discover and implement this information on sleep before it was too late.
It may be hard to change your habits. But your very life may depend upon it.
Think about it. Act upon it.
The 6 Senior Sleep Tips infographic is included below for you. It’s FREE for the taking!
Print it out. Post it on your ‘fridge.
Or better yet, share it on social media to inform and help protect the ones you love.
People aren’t getting enough sleep. It’s the silent killer.
Go then. Get some rest.
Until next time,
“Bene Vivere!”
Bob “Elderbob” Schwarztrauber
P.S. Sleep is so important to our well-being and health. Yet we’re more likely to track our daily steps, line items in our bank account, or our favorite team’s sports record. What I would suggest, is that you track your sleep instead. Or at least in addition to. Luckily, there is a company which makes this tracking easy with a stylish ring you can wear. Beautiful jewelry and vital sleep data monitoring? Yep. The company is called OURA and you can get their rings here and learn more about how they can help you become healthier and live longer.
Feel free to download, print, or share the above infographic on any of your social media channels. You might just save a life today!
