Recent research challenges the common belief that problems with nighttime sleep and daytime tiredness are more common in older adults. The study looked at 155,877 Americans…. of those, the people over the age of 80 were actually less likely to have sleep problems versus those between the ages of 18-24. Men over the age of 80 had less than half the frequency of sleep problems as the men aged 18-24. The octogenarian women also had fewer sleep issues than the 18-24 year old females. The study suggests that sleep problems were most closely linked to self-reported health status and depression. The young female respondents were also most likely to report feeling tired during the day. The rates of sleep problems and tiredness dropped after the age of 24 in women, and did climb as women reached their 80s, but they never reached the level seen in the youngest women. The rates of tiredness among men varied little with age, and rose only slightly in the late 70s.
It makes one wonder about the various factors affecting young people and their sleep patterns ……Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter May 2012