Skip to content

Top Navigation

Health.com Health.com
  • Health Conditions A-Z
  • News
  • Coronavirus
  • Diet & Nutrition
  • Fitness
  • Beauty
  • Mind & Body
  • Lifestyle
  • Weight Loss
  • Newsletter
  • Promo

Profile Menu

Join Now

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
My Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Health.com

Health.com Health.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Is Your Doctor Gaslighting You? Here's What to Do

      Is Your Doctor Gaslighting You? Here's What to Do

      How to handle a physician who doubts or dismisses your symptoms. Read More
    • 9 Signs It's More Serious Than the Common Cold

      9 Signs It's More Serious Than the Common Cold

      Doctors explain how to tell if you have a head cold or something more serious that requires medical attention, such as the flu, strep throat, meningitis, or mono. Read More
    • How Your Period Changes During Your 20s, 30s, and 40s

      How Your Period Changes During Your 20s, 30s, and 40s

      From easier cramps to a heavier flow, here's a guide on what to expect decade by decade. Read More
  • Health Conditions A-Z

    Health Conditions A-Z

    See All Health Conditions A-Z
    12 Anxiety Symptoms That Might Point to a Disorder

    12 Anxiety Symptoms That Might Point to a Disorder

    The symptoms of anxiety can be hard to detect. Here are the ones you need to pay attention to, and how to know if you may have an anxiety disorder.
    • Allergies
    • Anxiety
    • Birth Control
    • Breast Cancer
    • Coronavirus
    • Chronic Pain
    • Cold, Flu, and Sinus
    • Depression
    • Digestive Health
    • Diabetes (Type 2)
    • Eczema
    • Eye Health
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Heart Disease
    • Headaches and Migraines
    • Oral Health
    • Pregnancy
    • Psoriasis
    • Sexual Health
    • Skin Conditions
    • Sleep
    • Thyroid
  • News

    News

    See All News
    Shannen Doherty Reveals Stage 4 Breast Cancer Diagnosis—Here's What It Means

    Shannen Doherty Reveals Stage 4 Breast Cancer Diagnosis—Here's What It Means

    "I'm petrified," the actress said when she shared the news that her breast cancer came back. Here's why a stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis can be so frightening.
    • Celebrities
  • Coronavirus
  • Diet & Nutrition

    Diet & Nutrition

    The Best (and Worst) Diets of 2020, According to Experts

    The Best (and Worst) Diets of 2020, According to Experts

    FYI: The keto diet isĀ not number one.
    • Food
    • Nutrition
    • Vitamins and Supplements
    • Groceries
    • Restaurants
    • Diets
    • Keto Diet
    • Mediterranean Diet
    • Whole30
    • Recipes
  • Fitness

    Fitness

    See All Fitness
    10 Moves for a Cardio Workout at Home—No Equipment Required

    10 Moves for a Cardio Workout at Home—No Equipment Required

    Stay in your living room and still spike your heart rate.
    • Cardio Workouts
    • Strength Training
    • Yoga
    • Ab Workouts
    • Arm Workouts
    • Leg Workouts
    • Butt Workouts
    • Fitness Gear
  • Beauty

    Beauty

    See All Beauty
    These 13 Women Prove Every Body Is a Bikini Body

    These 13 Women Prove Every Body Is a Bikini Body

    We're loving their inspirational, body-positive messages.
    • Skincare
    • Makeup
    • Hair
    • Nails
  • Mind & Body

    Mind & Body

    See All Mind & Body
    Why Do People Lie? We Asked an Expert

    Why Do People Lie? We Asked an Expert

    Here's the truth about lying.
    • Body Positivity
    • Self-Care
    • Misdiagnosed
    • Invisible Illness
    • LGBTQ+ Health
    • Right to Care: Health Diversity and Inclusion
    • Resolution Reboot
    • Wellness Warriors
  • Lifestyle

    Lifestyle

    20 Things You Should Throw Away for Better Health

    20 Things You Should Throw Away for Better Health

    Clean out expired products and clutter to make way for a healthier you.
    • Healthy Home
    • Pets
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Style
    • Holidays
    • Sex
    • Gifts
    • Money
    • Tech
    • Medicare
    • Best Life Now
    • Health Reviews
  • Weight Loss
  • Newsletter
  • Promo

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Join Now

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
My Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

LIVE
  1. HomeChevron Right
  2. SleepChevron Right
  3. The Simple Secret to Great Sleep

The Simple Secret to Great Sleep

By Nancy Rones
Updated July 21, 2013
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin
obstructive-sleep-apnea
Credit: Getty Images
Conquer fatigue now with these sneaky snooze busters for every age.
Start Slideshow

1 of 7

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Sweet dreams at every age

great-sleep-any-age-400x400.jpg

You already know that pregnancy pains and hot flashes can keep you tossing and turning at night. But there's a host of other, less-heralded health concerns that may be silently interfering with your shut-eye. Here's how to deal with these stealth sleep stealers, decade by decade.

1 of 7

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 7

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Your 20s and 30s: Check your thyroid

check-thyroid-good-sleep
Credit: Getty Images

New moms usually blame sluggishness or insomnia on the demands of parenthood, says Laura Corio, MD, an OB-GYN in private practice in New York City and attending physician at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. But the true culprit may be postpartum thyroiditis, which 5 to 10 percent of women develop in the year following delivery.

Typically, it starts with mild hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), which can rev you up and set off insomnia. After a couple of months, the condition may swing to hypothyroidism, in which a lack of thyroid hormone slows your body's functions, leaving you feeling constantly tired. If you're too jumpy to sleep or have extreme fatigue postpartum, see your doctor.

2 of 7

3 of 7

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Your 20s and 30s: Say goodbye to sadness

depression-insomnia
Credit: Getty Images

Feeling blue can pack a double whammy when it comes to sleep: Not only can depression cause sleep problems such as insomnia, but some antidepressant medications may have sleep-related side effects.

Donna Arand, PhD, clinical director of the Kettering Sleep Disorders Center in Dayton, Ohio, and an American Academy of Sleep Medicine spokeswoman, recommends a two-fold treatment for insomnia with depression: cognitive behavioral therapy, a therapeutic approach which can be used specifically to target insomnia and bad sleep habits, plus talk therapy aimed at alleviating depression, adding or adjusting medication as appropriate. (The antidepressant trazodone may help with both insomnia and depression.)

3 of 7

Advertisement

4 of 7

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Yours 40s: Notice when you go at night

frequent-night-urinating
Credit: Getty Images

If you're waking up to pee a lot more lately, don't assume it's a sign of aging—you might actually have a urinary tract infection (UTI). "Decreasing estrogen levels in the mid-40s leads to a thinning of the lining of the vagina and bladder, which makes perimenopausal women more prone to infection," says Dr. Corio, author of The Change Before The Change. Corio adds that women in their early 40s are often very sexually active, which can also lead to more UTIs. Talk to your doc if you notice a change in your bathroom habits.

4 of 7

5 of 7

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Yours 40s: Deepen zzz's with exercise

exercise-better-sleep
Credit: Getty Images

Deep, restorative sleep (called delta or slow-wave sleep) decreases in your late 40s, making nighttime awakenings more frequent. Working out more may help. Your muscles and tissues are repaired during slow-wave sleep, Arand explains. When you give your body more repair work to do thanks to increased physical exertion, it responds by stepping up the amount of slow-wave sleep you'll get.

The type of exercise that's best for triggering slow-wave sleep isn't clear, but aim for 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity on most days, suggests Wilfred R. Pigeon, PhD, director of the Sleep and Neurophysiology Research Lab at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

5 of 7

6 of 7

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Your 50s+: Mind your meds

presciption-medicine-affects-sleep
Credit: Getty Images

Prescription drugs you may be taking for high blood pressure and cholesterol could affect your pillow time. Diuretics (used to treat hypertension) can necessitate nighttime visits to the bathroom, says Annabelle Volgman, MD, a cardiologist and the medical director of the Heart Center for Women at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

If your doc says it's OK, try taking your pills in the morning instead of the evening. And statins for cholesterol-control can deplete your body's muscles of co-enzyme Q10, a natural protein required for normal functioning of muscle cells; the resulting muscle aches might make falling asleep a challenge. If that sounds like you, Dr. Volgman suggests asking your doctor if you might benefit from taking a co-Q10 supplement.

6 of 7

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 7

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Your 50s+: Saw less wood

obstructive-sleep-apnea
Credit: Getty Images

Chronic snoring is a major sign of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disorder in which breathing briefly stops periodically while you sleep, interrupting and worsening the quality of your snooze time.

OSA can have some heavy consequences, such as worsening or increasing the risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, or stroke. "The risk of developing sleep apnea increases after

menopause when progesterone levels drop," Arand says—possibly because progesterone may help the muscles of the upper airway stay open. Being overweight is also a big risk factor for OSA (and weight gain is a common occurrence during menopause); in some cases, slimming down can actually cure the disorder.

7 of 7

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Nancy Rones

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 7 Sweet dreams at every age
    2 of 7 Your 20s and 30s: Check your thyroid
    3 of 7 Your 20s and 30s: Say goodbye to sadness
    4 of 7 Yours 40s: Notice when you go at night
    5 of 7 Yours 40s: Deepen zzz's with exercise
    6 of 7 Your 50s+: Mind your meds
    7 of 7 Your 50s+: Saw less wood

    Share options

    Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

    Login

    Health.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • About Us
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Contact us
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Sitemap

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Other Meredith Sites

    Other Meredith Sites

    • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
    • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
    • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
    • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
    • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
    • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
    • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
    • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
    • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
    • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
    • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
    • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
    • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
    • More this link opens in a new tab
    • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
    • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
    • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
    • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
    • Parents this link opens in a new tab
    • People this link opens in a new tab
    • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
    • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
    • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
    • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
    • Shape this link opens in a new tab
    • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
    • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
    • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
    • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
    MeredithHealth.com is part of the Meredith Health Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved. The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis, or recommended treatments. All products and services featured are selected by our editors. Health.com may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.health.com

    View image

    The Simple Secret to Great Sleep
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.