Generally, it has been assumed that the need for sleep does not decrease with age, but rather that other factors gradually come to interfere with our ability to sleep through the night.

Older individuals, for instance, are at greater risk not only for developing medical and psychiatric disorders but also for taking medications that can disrupt sleep. In spite of these influences, however, it may be that an actual biological deterioration of the sleep drive might also be playing a role.

A new study published in the journal Current Biology has been able to shed some light on this puzzle of sleep and aging. The researchers, who wanted to determine the maximal sleep capacity of both young and older persons, arranged for groups of younger adults (ages 18 to 32 years) and older adults (ages 60 to 76 years) to lie in bed for 12 hours during the night and for another 4 hours in the afternoon.

The subjects tended to sleep significantly longer at the beginning of the experiment, presumably because they were making up for a sleep debt accrued during their usual daily sleep routines. When the sleep patterns stabilized, however, the younger adults were capable of sleeping for much longer times — an average of 8.9 hours daily — than were the elderly people, who got only 7.4 hours daily. This 1.5-hour difference in maximal sleep capacity is impressive.

If your biological drive for sleep seems to have decreased, make sure that you are following the kinds of routines and behaviors that will give you the best chance of getting as much refreshing sleep as possible. Here are some examples of good sleep hygiene:

* Make sure that you're going to bed early enough to allow yourself to get an adequate night's sleep.
* As your bedtime approaches, develop a relaxing routine in the evening — don't keep busy until the moment before you expect to fall asleep.
* Avoid watching TV in bed.
* Sleep in a cool, relatively dark room.
* Consider going to sleep to the sound of white noise, either from a bedside fan or a machine that generates calming sounds.
* Increase your exercising, but don't do it so near to bedtime that it gets your adrenaline flowing and keeps you awake.
* Limit your daily intake of caffeinated beverages and avoid them completely after lunchtime.
* Avoid alcoholic beverages.

一般来说，假定睡眠所需的时间不会因年龄的增加而减少，而是其他因素逐渐干扰了我们整夜酣睡不醒的能力。

老年人，例如，有更大的风险，不仅在不断发展的医疗和精神失调，而且因为服药扰乱睡眠。不计这些影响，然而，它可能是一个实际的生物恶化的睡眠驱动器也可以发挥作用。

发表在现代生物学杂志上的一项新研究，已经能够阐明睡眠与衰老之迷。研究人员，想要确定年轻人和老年人最大的睡眠能力，安排成组的年轻人（年龄18至32岁）和老年人（ 60岁至76岁）夜间躺在床上12个小时，另外下午4个小时。

实验开始时试验者的睡眠时间明显偏长，大概是因为他们在弥补日常睡眠期间累积的债务。当睡眠模式稳定下来了，然而，年轻人睡眠的时间更长——平均每天8 .9小时-比老人——只有7. 4小时每天。这1.5小时的最大睡眠能力差异令人印象深刻。

如果您睡眠的生物性驱动看起来有所下降，请务必遵循下面的各种惯例和行为，这会给你带来最好的改变，越来越多耳目一新的睡眠。下面是一些好的睡眠保健例子：

1.请务必要早点上床，使自己获得足够的睡眠。
2.快要睡觉的时候，晚上制定一个相对轻松工作计划——不要忙碌到你希望入睡之前的那一刻。
3.避免在床上看电视。
4.睡在一个凉爽，相对黑暗的屋子里。
5.考虑在无噪声中睡觉，无论是从床头风扇还是机器产生平静的声音。
6.加强锻炼，但不是在临近睡觉的时候，因为它会使您的肾上腺素流动，让你清醒。
7.控制您每日摄取含有咖啡因（茶精）的饮料，午饭后要完全避免他们。
8.避免酒精饮料。