How Your Sleep Needs Change
If it seems like you’re getting less sleep in your 30’s, or sleeping more after you turn 50, it’s not just a coincidence. New research has found that the amount of time spent sleeping changes several times throughout one’s lifetime—and can even be different depending on your geographical location.
               The University College London teamed up with two other research teams from the East Anglia and Lyon to take a deeper look at the findings from a neuroscience research project that’s currently underway where participants are playing the Sea Hero Quest game. In this game, scientists are using results that everyday people are contributing by playing. Their results are helping scientists learn more about spatial navigation and the brain and providing information for learning how the brain deals with neurodegeneration.
Global Sleep Pattern Analysis
More than four million players have contributed their results from playing this game, and they have answered questionnaires about their location and sleep patterns. Based on these sleep pattern questions, researchers have information about sleep patterns all over the world. On average, most people sleep about 7 hours per night, and the youngest adults who were at least 19 years of age slept the most of any age group.
               By the time people reached their later 20’s and early 30’s, sleep time declined until it plateaued at age 33. From 33 to 53, sleep patterns stayed the same; until after 53, when people began sleeping more again. These changes were noted across the board, regardless of location, education, or gender.
Equatorial Proximity Affects Sleep
               What is most interesting about this study is that the closer people live to the equator, the less sleep they got compared to others around the world. For instance, people in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines slept the least, and the UK also reported less than average sleep. Eastern European countries (e.g., Czech Republic, Romania, Albania) slept 20-40 minutes longer each night compared to other regions.
               In your mid-50s, experiencing teenage-like sleep may be explained by three phases of sleep patterns. Aging alters sleep patterns due to reduced melatonin production, commonly resulting in difficulties sleeping as one gets older. Sleep needs change with age; increased need for sleep as you get older should be taken into account. Melatonin supplements aid sleep, crucial for long trips, particularly near the equator; consider packing it for your travels.
Further Reading
A. Coutrot, A. S. Lazar, M. Richards, E. Manley, J. M. Wiener, R. C. Dalton, M. Hornberger, H. J. Spiers. Reported sleep duration reveals segmentation of the adult life-course into three phases. Nature Communications, 2022; 13 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34624-8
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