Healthy Older Adults Require Less Sleep: Study

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Healthy older adults require less sleep and are less likely to feel tired during the day than younger adults, according to a new study.

British researchers looked at 110 healthy adults with no sleep disorders or complaints and found that adults ages 66 to 83 slept about 20 minutes less per night than middle-aged adults ages 40 to 55, who slept 23 minutes less than young adults ages 20 to 30, Agence France Presse reported.

The older adults also woke up more often during the night and spent more time awake after initial sleep onset, the study found.

Even though older adults spent less time asleep and slept less deeply, they were less likely to need a nap during the day than younger adults, said the University of Surrey researchers, AFP reported.

The study appears in the journal Sleep.