well presently my hubby needs to be up by 4 am.....we go to bed at 9...it takes me roughly half hour to fall asleep.......so by this article IF I fall asleep at 9, till I get thru the 4 stages of NREM sleep....that takes me to 3 am.......then I am in REM for 1/2 hour because I get up to make him breakfast and pack lunch (this doesn't count the 2 times I get up to use the bathroom).......so I am thinking I am skipping some stages.......cause I DREAM every night........some very unusual ones. I want someone to come up with a device that can be hooked up to my head and produce the images on a screen.....so my family can see what I am actually dreaming every night.

I am only 60, but can sleep 10 hours a night. Many nights are not quality sleep. I am up a lot, my mind won't shut off, and I do nap several days a week, if I lay down to rest my back, I may fall asleep and if I do, OK. I'm not retired (women don't get to do that, I have realized!!) and I am still very active.

All my elders slept or sleep great. Early to bed. Earlier as they got older and early to rise. No napping during the day. So, I agree, lack of sleep is not because of age.

Science can determine their conclusions of sleep needs and patterns for the average senior till the cows return for milking, but for me, all it's "factual" findings and conclusions do not apply for me. I suppose one could say that I am an exception to all the rules. (or am I perhaps not so much of an anomaly as sleep studies indicate) I am 70 years old, and I have extreme difficulty falling asleep...my mind is too active and won't shut off, so most nights it takes me 1 to 2 hours to finally enter dreamland. I wake about 3 to 4 times nightly but generally fall right back to sleep. I do not wake rested until I have had 10 to 12 hours of company by the Sandman. Also, I am a night owl, perhaps not more productive at this time on most days, Falling asleep before midnight is a rarity. Turning off the lights at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning is most common. I normally nap 1 to 2 hours during the day, but on days that I am prevented from doing so, I am dragging my feet and flop down in my chair, devoid of strength for any further activity and it's on days like this that I just may fall asleep before midnight. However, I almost always wake up in 1 to 2 hours, fully refreshed and out of the starting gate reading, writing, or on my computer until 3 or 4 in the morning. I suppose that I would be a good candidate for scientific study.