Do you believe that people get minimal sleep at night during their crazy college years? Think again. According to a recent study, Americans sleep less at 40 years than at any other time in their life.
Fortunately, a group from the Medical College of Georgia claims that things do improve with age and that around the age of 60, Americans tend to sleep more. The study found that the nation’s sleep habits follow a U-shaped curve, with young kids sleeping the most before sleep quality begins to deteriorate between 10 years and 50 years. Finally, the trend reaches its lowest point around age 40, when Americans sleep the least hours per night.
Despite getting less sleep, investigators discovered that between the ages of 30 years and 60 years, the quality of sleep actually remains stable. More than 11,000 adults over the age of six who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or NHANES, had their sleep information analyzed by the team. Researchers gathered the information from 2011 through 2014. Additionally, the poll represents the first time that a nationally representative group of Americans has had access to 24-hour accelerometer data.
Each subject wore these trackers for seven. Although the gadgets don’t directly assess sleep duration, they do monitor movement, which gives researchers a clue as to whether a subject is sleeping or not.
Dr. Shaoyong Su said, “We confirmed previous findings based on subjective measurement. For example, people think children and adolescents sleep later and we found this. And, during middle age, people sleep less and our findings support that objectively.”
The higher amount of sleep in later life, according to the study’s authors, is probably due to the fact that many Americans prefer to retire at 60 years. Simply put, retirees no longer need to rise early. However, the researchers emphasize that age-related health issues could potentially be a factor in this.