How Our Sleep Changes Over a Lifetime

By Deluxe Sleep · Published on 28 July 2026

How Our Sleep Changes Over a Lifetime

Soon the time will come again when the whole family gathers under the Christmas tree: the grandparents, the teenage son, the little daughter, and your partner. Grandma and Grandpa have been up and about since early morning, while the older son stayed in dreamland until noon. No sooner had he gotten up than the grandparents lay down for their short nap. Now the son is full of energy – while his little sister, despite all the excitement and joy, is slowly getting glassy-eyed. How do these different energy levels come about? And what does it have to do with sleep behavior and age? Our sleep behavior over the course of our lives is anything but constant: our need for sleep and our sleep phases change, and sleep problems tend to increase. Babies, for example, dream for up to eight hours, while in adulthood it is only around 1.5 hours per night. Read on to find out how age changes our sleep behavior and sleep quality.

Infants – developing while they sleep

Anyone with a baby around knows: babies need a lot of sleep – a whole lot of sleep. In fact, newborns sleep up to 16 hours a day. This is important for their development, as they have an enormous amount of physical and mental growing to do. Incidentally, the human body clock takes almost 6 months to develop. Until then, most infants have a fairly irregular sleep pattern. Even at this age, it helps to give the baby consistent routines. Try to get up at the same time in the morning, feed at regular times, and put your child to bed at the same time each evening. When nursing at night, do so only in dim light and avoid playing with the baby afterwards. Playing monotonous sounds, such as the hum of a washing machine or a car, also has a soothing effect.

Children – processing while they sleep

Over the years, toddlers learn to sit, walk and talk – and quite a bit changes when it comes to sleep as well: they now need "only" around 9-11 hours of sleep. During this time, their brains can process and store the many new impressions from the day. Unlike adults, small children usually fall asleep without problems and relatively quickly. Parents should help their children learn good sleep habits as early as toddlerhood. This is possible, for example, with a routine before bedtime: a sleep routine learned early on can help prevent trouble falling asleep in adulthood.

Teenagers – hormonal shifts during sleep

Anyone with a teenager at home knows that the body clock changes during puberty: adolescents tend to stay up later in the evening and sleep in longer in the morning. This is rooted in a biological predisposition – one that unfortunately does not fit well with the school system. At around 8-10 hours of sleep per night, teenagers still need more sleep than adults, as their bodies are busy adjusting their hormone levels. A different rhythm on weekdays versus weekends additionally has an enormous effect on sleep quality and the ability to concentrate. Talk to your children about the possible consequences of sleep deprivation, since they are usually not aware of them.

Adults – more time to fall asleep

Perhaps you know the feeling: within a few minutes you are in deep sleep, while your partner needs almost an hour to reach the land of dreams? In adulthood, individual differences in how long it takes to fall asleep are very large. A consistent sleep rhythm can help you fall asleep faster in the evening. It also helps to use the bed only for sleeping and to stop consuming caffeine or alcohol for a few hours before bedtime. Relaxation exercises can also help reduce stress and fall asleep more quickly. Individual differences aside, adults need an average of around 7-9 hours of sleep to feel rested the next day. In earlier centuries, incidentally, young adults slept considerably longer than they do today: in industrialized countries, sleep duration has fallen from 9.5 to 7 hours. Unfortunately, the human brain has still not been able to adapt to this reduced sleep duration, which is why some adults suffer from a chronic sleep deficit.

60+ – less and lighter sleep

Do you always get up early in the morning, yet struggle to fall asleep in the evening? Unfortunately, that is often the case… Because as we get older, our need for sleep decreases. From around age 60, we only need about 7-8 hours of sleep. It is often the case that in later life we spread our sleep across the day – with an afternoon nap, for example – which reduces sleep pressure in the evening. That is why it can take us up to an hour to fall asleep at night. In that case, an evening walk can help, as exercise and fresh air create physical tiredness. Since we no longer sleep as deeply from around retirement age, our waking threshold is then lower and we become more sensitive to noise. The decline in deep sleep phases means we are no longer as rested in the morning as younger adults. A darkened, quiet bedroom is then especially important.

Deluxe Sleep wishes everyone – young and old alike – restful sleep and a merry Christmas!

Source: This article is based on an article from the BICO sleep blog (bico.ch). The research findings, product developments and test results mentioned in it come from BICO or from the third parties named in each case.