By Modern60
Published On November 25, 2025
The quality and quantity of sleep you get every night can affect you in many ways. For instance, not sleeping enough can weaken your immune system, lower your lung capacity, and increase food cravings. It can also have an impact on your mental well-being, leading to anger and irritability. Fortunately, if you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, there are ways to address these issues and improve your chances of enjoying a restful night.
When you go to bed at night, you will likely pass through four stages of sleep.
In this stage, you are just about dozing off. Your brain slows down and your body begins to relax, but you can still be easily awoken.
Your brain and body slow down further. Your muscles relax, and your body temperature, heart rate, and breathing rate decrease.
Your body starts repairing itself at this point. Your immune system, bones, muscles, and tissues undergo restoration. It becomes difficult for someone to wake you up during this stage.
During the rapid eye movement (REM) phase, your brain activity increases as it processes the day’s events and stores new memories. As this happens, your eyes move even with your eyelids closed. That said, your body remains motionless.
These stages together make up one sleep cycle. You go through four to six sleep cycles every night, each lasting about 90 minutes.
REM is perhaps the most important stage of a sleep cycle when the brain performs essential functions. That’s why quality REM sleep (about two hours every night) is recommended for all adults, including seniors. When you get sufficient REM sleep, you benefit in several ways.
During REM sleep, your brain clears cellular waste that accumulates in its tissues during the day. This lowers the risk of neurodegenerative disorders and helps your brain function better.
While you can have dreams in other sleep stages as well, the ones that occur during REM sleep are more immersive. These dreams strengthen your brain’s neural connections.
During the REM phase, your brain sorts through all the new information acquired during the day and keeps what is useful. It also creates meaningful associations, which help with memory and learning.
REM is usually the last stage before you wake up in the morning. During this stage, your brain activity gradually increases. Your breathing rate, heart rate, and blood pressure also rise to levels similar to those when you are awake. This helps you transition smoothly into a waking state.
The kind of sleep you get every night, whether REM or non-REM, can directly impact your overall well-being.
When you fall asleep at night, your brain quietly processes everything that happened during your day. It tries to make sense of every event that occurred, every conversation you had, every new thing you learned, and every emotion you felt. This is why you wake up calmer, more grounded, and with a clearer mind. Without restful sleep, you may not be able to process your emotions, which can leave you feeling angry, sad, cranky, or restless most of the time.
When you do not sleep enough, your digestive system produces more ghrelin. This hormone is known to increase your food cravings, especially for highly palatable, processed items. That is why getting enough sleep every night is important. On days when you do not sleep well, you must pay attention to these unhealthy food cravings and practice mindful eating.
Your body produces proteins called antibodies to fight bacteria and viruses. Not getting enough sleep every night slows antibody production. This directly weakens your immune system, increasing your risk of falling ill.
Your brain and muscles break down glycogen to generate energy. Since glycogen reserves are replenished every time you sleep, not sleeping enough can lead to a fall in glycogen, making you feel tired.
Sleep gives your mind a chance to organize and store information more effectively. This helps you think critically, make better decisions, solve problems, communicate clearly, and come up with creative ideas.
When you sleep, your lungs’ natural ability to clear irritants, such as dust, pollutants, and allergens, is at its peak. Insufficient sleep tends to impair this ability, which can trigger coughing, wheezing, or a feeling of not getting enough air. Inadequate sleep is also known to reduce lung capacity. This is why you may find yourself taking quick, shallow breaths when you wake up after a less-than-satisfying nap.
While advice on sleep is easily available these days, not all of it is backed up by scientific evidence. You may sometimes come across sleep-related myths that, if followed, can be detrimental to your overall well-being. It is important to watch out for such myths and try to understand the truth behind them.
Many people think older adults require less sleep than younger individuals. But that is a misconception. The truth is that even seniors need 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. Getting less sleep than that raises the risk of lowered immunity and other physical and psychological conditions.
Sleeping through the night is much better for you than regularly catching up during the day. The sleep you get during the day tends to be of lower quality. Also, not to forget, sleeping during the day messes with your circadian rhythm. Your body and brain are designed to take darkness as a natural cue for rest.
Few things are as frustrating as tossing and turning in bed for hours, waiting for sleep to wash over you. A better option is to do something relaxing in a quiet or dim setting. For example, you can read a book until you start feeling drowsy and then lie down on the bed. Your body should associate your bed with sleep rather than restlessness. That is why staying in bed while struggling to sleep is not a good idea.
Light, occasional snoring is usually not a problem, but loud, frequent snoring indicates underlying issues. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition that causes chronic or loud snoring. So if this symptom persists, visiting a licensed healthcare professional is a wise course of action.
If you find it hard to fall asleep even after your bedtime, there could be several reasons behind it.
Older adults are generally known to take extended daytime naps. Now, while some experts suggest that short daytime naps may be beneficial, a large majority agree that extended napping during this period regularly disrupts nighttime sleep. So, if you find yourself nodding off during the day, wash your face with running water as a momentary solution instead of taking a nap. Other ways to ward off daytime drowsiness include establishing a solid sleep schedule, engaging in regular exercise, and increasing exposure to daylight.
You cannot fall asleep if your mattress is uncomfortable. Ideally, a mattress should not be too hard or too soft. To find the mattress that suits you perfectly, you can test multiple alternatives. Many sellers offer free trials to help you with this. Once you find the right level of comfort with a particular mattress, you can choose it.
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a condition whose risk increases with age. As the name implies, if you have this condition, you experience a tingling, throbbing, or itching sensation in your legs. These symptoms leave you twisting and turning in bed, unable to drift off.
As you grow older, your body’s circadian rhythm shifts forward. This means you start getting tired earlier and go to bed sooner. Similarly, you tend to wake up earlier. You also spend more time in the earlier, lighter stages of sleep and less in the later, deeper stages.
Many sleep aids are available in the market, but they often have side effects. That is why natural remedies are better for older adults who struggle to sleep well.
Exercise triggers specific physiological changes that help you fall asleep faster at night and stay asleep longer. For instance, aerobic exercises, such as quick walking, golfing, and cycling, release chemicals in your body that promote restful sleep. They can be done at a leisurely pace and are not taxing. Walking and cycling can be done outdoors or on a stationary bike or treadmill.
Wellness experts suggest that people who have difficulty drifting off to sleep should maintain a consistent sleep schedule. This means attempting to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. After doing this for a few weeks, your body will reset its internal clock, and sleep will come more naturally.
The scents of essential oils, such as lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, chamomile, and lemongrass, have soothing properties that help calm your mind and drift you off to sleep. All you need is a dispenser that spreads the fragrance of these oils across your bedroom.
As the day winds down, you can start to relax by practicing slow breathing, taking warm showers, or listening to calming sounds. Following these habits at the same time every evening will signal to your body that the day is ending and that it’s time to get ready to sleep.
Drinking organic herbal teas or warm water can soothe and relax your body, helping you drift off to sleep more easily. But avoid caffeinated beverages, as they can make you feel more alert.
A restless mind is a major reason behind a lack of sleep. Calming your mind through meditation or breathing exercises can help you gradually fall into deep sleep and remain there for several hours.
Your bedroom may need certain adjustments to help you fall asleep more quickly and easily.
Bright light makes it difficult for your eyes and mind to rest. On the other hand, dim or indirect light sends a gentle signal to the body that it’s time to slow down. Installing these lights in your bedroom is one of the surest ways to lull your mind into slumber.
A warm and stuffy room can make you uncomfortable throughout the night. Proper ventilation and air conditioning make it easier for your mind and body to settle into a state of rest and, eventually, into deep sleep.
Besides the right mattress, supportive pillows are vital for getting into a comfortable sleeping position. Pillows that are too soft do not provide great neck, shoulder, and back support. On the other hand, those that are too hard can cause aches and pains. That is why you must find the right balance.
Having a clock in the room creates several issues that, together, prevent you from falling asleep. For instance, the ticking sound can be distracting, and the urge to check the time can cause anxiety. Removing the clock helps prevent these issues and makes the transition into slumber easier.
Your brain associates any space with the action you perform there. So, if you eat or watch TV while lying in your bed, your mind will find it difficult to fall asleep. To sidestep this issue, make sure the bed is used solely for sleeping, nothing else.
The Editorial Team at Modern60 is a group of highly skilled professionals with diverse backgrounds in journalism, content creation, editing, and digital media. They bring a wealth of experience and expertise to ensure that every piece of content meets our strict editorial guidelines and quality standards. The team is dedicated to delivering accurate, well-researched, and engaging content across various subjects, including health, wellness, lifestyle, and current events. With their commitment to upholding the highest standards of journalism and content creation, the Modern60 Editorial Team is the driving force behind our mission to empower and inspire our readers.
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