In 30 seconds
- From the age of 40, sleep efficiency falls by 3% per decade and time awake during the night rises by about 10 minutes per decade.
- Even so, adults of any age still need 7-9 hours of sleep.
- Caffeine 6 hours before bed can cost you more than an hour of sleep, and alcohol disrupts the second half of the night.
- During the transition to the menopause, 26% of women have severe sleep symptoms, and hot flushes are one of the main reasons.
From 40 onwards, sleep changes: it gets a little harder to stay asleep, you wake up more often and, for women, hot flushes arrive. What you need does not change: it is still 7-9 hours. The good news is that almost everything that helps is in your hands, and this guide sets it out step by step.
Your sleep from 40 onwards
What changes and what does not
What changes in your sleep from 40
The key study on how sleep changes with age is a meta-analysis of 65 studies with 3,577 healthy people. These are the changes in adults 1:
| What is measured | How it changes | From when |
|---|---|---|
| Total sleep time | About 10 minutes less per decade | Throughout adulthood |
| Sleep efficiency | 3% less per decade | Especially from 40 |
| Deep sleep | 2% less per decade | Throughout adulthood |
| Time awake during the night | About 10 minutes more per decade | From 30 |
| Time taken to fall asleep | Less than 10 minutes more between the ages of 20 and 80 | Clearer from 65 |
Source: Ohayon et al., 2004. 65 studies with 3,577 healthy people. From 60 onwards, only efficiency keeps falling.
The key figure for you: sleep efficiency, the share of your time in bed that you spend asleep, starts to fall more clearly from 40 1. And time awake during the night already rises from 30 1.
The structure also changes. Over the years some deep sleep is lost, and older people spend less time in REM sleep and have more difficulty sleeping 1 2. Between young adults and people over 60 there is a difference of around 4% in the proportion of REM 1.
What does not change is the need: most adults, including older adults, need 7-9 hours a night 2. Sleeping worse with age does not mean you need less sleep.
How many hours you need
Set a bedtime that lets you sleep at least 7-8 hours 3. If you exercise or your job is demanding, aim for the upper end.
To see your figure, take our sleep test: it compares how much you sleep with how much you exercise and work, and tells you your ideal number of hours.
Step 1. Fix the time you get up
This is the basis for everything else. Get up at the same time every day, including weekends and holidays 3.
- Count backwards. If you get up at 7:00, your bedtime is between 23:00 and 23:30.
- Do not go to bed unless you feel sleepy. This is another of the specialists' recommendations 3. If sleepiness comes later one day, wait for it and keep your usual time for getting up.
Step 2. Put light on your side
Light is probably what most influences your sleep-wake cycle. Your internal clock, a small area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, receives information about light through your eyes, and when it gets dark the brain releases melatonin, the hormone that makes you sleepy 2.
- During the day: make the most of natural light 2.
- At night: limit bright light; low lamps are better than the ceiling light 3.
- Screens: switch them off at least 30 minutes before bed 3.
Step 3
Caffeine and alcohol: what they do to your night
Step 3. Caffeine and alcohol: when to stop
Caffeine
Twelve healthy adults took 400 mg of caffeine, about 2-3 cups of coffee, 6 hours before going to bed. They slept more than an hour less and did not notice it 4. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises avoiding it from 17:00 4.
| If you go to bed at… | Last coffee, at the latest |
|---|---|
| 22:00 | 16:00 |
| 22:30 | 16:30 |
| 23:00 | 17:00 |
| 23:30 | 17:30 |
| 00:00 | 18:00 |
Calculated with a 6-hour margin (Drake et al., 2013). If you are sensitive to caffeine, make it earlier.
Do not forget hidden caffeine: tea, cola drinks, energy drinks and many pre-exercise supplements. You have it drink by drink in caffeine and sleep.
Alcohol
Alcohol helps you fall asleep sooner and, at first, gives you more deep sleep. But it disrupts the second half of the night and delays the first REM sleep, at any amount. That is the conclusion of a review of 20 studies 5.
The recommendation: no alcohol before bed 3.
Step 4. Exercise, but not too close to bedtime
Being active helps you sleep: the recommendation is to exercise regularly 3. And what if you can only exercise in the evening?
A meta-analysis of 23 studies in healthy people did not find that evening exercise worsened sleep. It even increased deep sleep slightly 6.
The only exception: an intense session that ends less than an hour before bed could delay sleep and shorten it 6. If you exercise late, leave that margin and avoid pre-exercise supplements with caffeine. We explain it in training in the evening.
Step 5. Your bedtime routine
This is the time to slow down. Repeat the same relaxing sequence every night 3:
- A light dinner. Avoid heavy meals; if you get hungry later, have something light 3.
- Less fluid in the last few hours, so you do not get up to go to the loo 3.
- A warm shower or bath. A systematic review of 17 studies found that water at 40-42.5 °C, between 1 and 2 hours before bed, shortened the time taken to fall asleep and improved sleep quality. 10 minutes was enough 7.
- Low light and screens away. A paper book or calm music.
- A cool, quiet bedroom, and use the bed only for sleep and sex 3.
This is how it looks in a real schedule:
| Time | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 17:30 | Last coffee or tea | 6 hours before bed |
| Before 22:30 | Finish any intense exercise | At least an hour before bed |
| 21:00 | Light dinner; from now on, little fluid | Less heaviness and fewer trips to the loo |
| 21:30-22:30 | Warm shower or bath, 10 minutes is enough | Between 1 and 2 hours before bed |
| 23:00 | Screens away and low light | At least 30 minutes before |
| 23:30 | Bed | With room for 7-8 hours of sleep |
| 7:30 | Get up at your usual time | Weekends too |
Example schedule. Sources: American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Drake et al., 2013, Stutz et al., 2019, and Haghayegh et al., 2019.
Step 6. If you wake up in the early hours
Waking up now and then is normal. What you want is to avoid lying there tossing and turning:
- If you are still awake after 20 minutes, get up 3.
- Do something calm, in low light and with no screens 3.
- Go back to bed when you feel sleepy 3.
You have the most common causes and how to avoid them in why you wake up at night.
The menopause: hot flushes and sleep
This is one of the stages in which sleep changes most. 26% of women in the transition to the menopause have severe sleep symptoms that affect their daily life 8.
Hot flushes are one of the main reasons. Many are linked to awakenings measured in the sleep laboratory, and the time awake they cause adds to the rest of the night 8. Hormonal changes influence sleep over and above age, and after the menopause breathing problems during sleep become more common 8.
What you can do 9:
- Light nightwear and a cool bedroom at night.
- During a hot flush: a cool shower, a fan or a cold drink.
- Cut down on triggers: spicy food, caffeine, hot drinks, alcohol and smoking.
- Regular exercise and a healthy weight.
- Keep regular sleep times.
If hot flushes or poor sleep affect you a lot, mention it to your doctor. Cognitive behavioural therapy helps with both hot flushes and sleep, and there are hormonal and non-hormonal treatments 8 9.
When to see your doctor
Some signs are worth not ignoring. The most important are those of sleep apnoea 10:
- You snore, especially if the snoring is followed by silent pauses.
- You wake up choking or gasping.
- You wake up tired even though you have slept your hours, or you feel sleepy during the day.
- You get up to urinate often at night or wake up with a headache in the morning.
The main risk factor is excess weight. It is more common in men, and in women the risk rises with the menopause 10. Before your appointment, note down how you sleep for two weeks: it helps your doctor 10.
And if you sleep badly persistently, even though you look after everything above, see your doctor.
Common mistakes
- Lying in bed tossing and turning. If you have not fallen asleep after 20 minutes, it is better to get up for a while 3.
- The mid-afternoon coffee. With a 6-hour margin, someone who goes to bed at 23:00 should have their last one at about 17:00 4.
- A nightcap to help you sleep. You fall asleep sooner, but the second half of the night gets worse 5.
- Your phone in bed. Screens away at least 30 minutes before 3.
- Eating a big dinner late. A light dinner and little fluid in the last few hours are better 3.
- Going to bed early to “catch up”. If you do not feel sleepy, wait: do not go to bed until you do 3.
Your 4-week plan
You do not need to change everything at once. One habit a week:
| Week | What you change | How you check it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A fixed time to get up, weekends too | Take the sleep test and note down your hours |
| 2 | Caffeine only up to 6 hours before bed and no alcohol before sleep | Are you waking up less in the early hours? |
| 3 | Daylight, low light in the evening and screens away 30 minutes before bed | Are you falling asleep sooner? |
| 4 | Full bedtime routine: light dinner and warm shower | Are you waking up more rested? |
One change a week is easier to keep up than all of them at once.
Frequently asked questions
Is it normal to sleep worse after 40?
Yes, in part. In healthy adults, sleep efficiency falls mainly from 40, by 3% per decade, and time awake during the night rises by about 10 minutes per decade from 30. The habits in this guide help to make up for it.
How many hours of sleep do you need after 40?
The same as before: most adults, including older adults, need between 7 and 9 hours. Set a bedtime that lets you sleep at least 7-8.
How can I sleep better with menopausal hot flushes?
Light nightwear, a cool bedroom, a fan or a cold drink if you wake up, and cutting down on triggers: spicy food, caffeine, hot drinks, alcohol and smoking. If they affect you a lot, mention it to your doctor.
What time should you exercise to sleep well?
Whenever suits you: in 23 studies, exercising in the evening did not worsen sleep. It is just worth making sure an intense session ends at least an hour before bed.
What can I take to sleep better after 40?
First, the habits in this guide. If you sleep badly persistently, see your doctor.
Sources
- Ohayon MM, Carskadon MA, Guilleminault C, Vitiello MV. Meta-analysis of quantitative sleep parameters from childhood to old age in healthy individuals: developing normative sleep values across the human lifespan. Sleep. 2004;27(7):1255-1273. View publication
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH). Brain basics: understanding sleep. View publication
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Healthy sleep habits. Sleep Education. View publication
- Drake C, Roehrs T, Shambroom J, Roth T. Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed. J Clin Sleep Med. 2013;9(11):1195-1200. View publication
- Ebrahim IO, Shapiro CM, Williams AJ, Fenwick PB. Alcohol and sleep I: effects on normal sleep. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2013;37(4). View publication
- Stutz J, Eiholzer R, Spengler CM. Effects of evening exercise on sleep in healthy participants: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2019;49(2):269-287. View publication
- Haghayegh S, Khoshnevis S, Smolensky MH, Diller KR, Castriotta RJ. Before-bedtime passive body heating by warm shower or bath to improve sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2019;46:124-135. View publication
- Baker FC, de Zambotti M, Colrain IM, Bei B. Sleep problems during the menopausal transition: prevalence, impact, and management challenges. Nat Sci Sleep. 2018;10:73-95. View publication
- NHS. Menopause: things you can do. National Health Service (Reino Unido). View publication
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Education. View publication
Information based on published studies. It does not replace the advice of a doctor or registered dietitian. The results describe what was measured in each study, not the properties of any specific product. A varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are important.
