Your uncle Karl, who recently retired, has mentioned how he doesn’t sleep as well as he did when he was younger. For many years, he regularly slept about 7 to 8 hours, but now that he is in his 60s, he tends to get only 5 to 6 hours of sleep per night. What would you tell him?

a. Getting less sleep is dangerous as we age. People should seek medical intervention to help them sleep.

b. Getting less sleep as we age is not normal, since studies show we need more sleep as we age.

c. Getting less sleep seems to be a common consequence of aging.

d. Consider This: The answer varies from person to person because of each person’s age and possibly inherited sleep needs.

LO 4.3 Describe the biological process of the sleep–wake cycle.

e. Getting less sleep is associated with mental health problems in our later years. Uncle Karl should consider seeing a psychologist.