When we grow old, the ability of circadian clock to re-set itself when exposed to light will be impaired based a new research.[30]  As an elderly, here are some tips for you to get a good night sleep:

Treat Allergies

• Allergies can interfere your good night sleep.

Regular Bedtime

• Trying to go to bed and arise at the same time each day may help

• Sleep when your body is ready to sleep.  Don't stay up  beyond regular bedtime.

Try Chamomile Tea

• Chamomile tea contains a GABA-like compound and is proffered as a sleep aid. 

• Sip a cup of chamomile tea one to two hours before bed may help sleep.   Don’t drink so much that you wake up to go to the bathroom.

Try Melatonin for short term

• Melatonin can help reset your internal clock and thus help you overcome jet lag or temporary difficulty in sleeping.

• Dr. Andrew Weil take it most nights both for its effect on sleep and dreaming and for its useful influence on immunity[9].  However, Dr. Breus doesn't recommend it[5].

• Try cherry juice because it’s naturally high in melatonin[4]

  • In a 2010 study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, participants who drank tart cherry juice twice a day fell asleep sooner than when they drank a placebo beverage.

Avoid daytime napping

• Naps may provide a short-term boost in alertness and performance. However, napping doesn't provide all of the other benefits of night-time sleep. 

Know the Nos

• No alcohol or nicotine for 1 1/2 hours before bed.

• No exercise that makes you sweat for 1 1/2 hours before bed.

• No caffeine for at least 3 hours before bed.

• No eating 3 hours before bed.

Treat all medical conditions that may have been linked to sleep disorders

• These conditions include heart failure, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke or transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke), depression, GERD, Sleep Apnea and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

• Get help for obstructive Sleep Apnea

  • Using MRI brain scans, researchers at UCLA detected a loss of brain tissue in sleep apnea patients similar to that seen in Alzheimer's.

  • For people with sleep apnea, his/her brain SPECT scan will show severe decreased activity in the back half of his brain.

• If you have GERD or acid reflux and you eat something in the evening that aggravates it, your symptoms will interfere with sleep.

Manage your stress

Get some exercise every day

Set your room temperature to be between 60 to 68 degrees

In one recent study, University of Pittsburgh researchers found that when insomniacs wore a special cap designed to lower body temperature, they fell asleep about as quickly as other study participants without sleep issues.  This works because the cooling cap helped reduce brain metabolic activity, setting in motion a normal sleep cycle. Use the bedroom only for sleep and intimacy

• Take computers, video games, and cell phones out of the bedroom and turn them off an hour or two before bedtime

• Keep the bedroom dark especially avoid blue light.

  • In a study[14], 20 adult volunteers were randomized to wear either blue-blocking (amber) or yellow-tinted (blocking ultraviolet only) safety glasses for 3 h prior to sleep.   At the end of the study, the amber lens group experienced significant improvement in sleep quality relative to the control group. Mood also improved significantly relative to controls. 

Reduce night sweats by taking soy foods

• Some findings show that women who eat soy products report fewer hot flashes than women who do not eat soy do[10].

Give the sun a high 5 every morning for 15 minutes

• The melatonin signal forms part of the system that regulates the sleep-wake cycle by chemically causing drowsiness and lowering the body temperature.

• Spending time in nature is enough to synch the circadian clocks of eight people participating in a study with the timing of sunrise and sunset[19].

• In the morning awakening process, you should expose to sun light to reduce the production of melatonin.

  • It is principally blue light, around 460 to 480 nm, that suppresses melatonin.

Listen to music

• A study at Case Western Reserve University showed that listening to music with 60 to 80 beats per minute for 45 minutes before bedtime improved perceived sleep quality, lengthened sleep duration, shortened the time it took to fall asleep, and resulted in more time asleep.

Try scents

• Lavender in particular has been shown in some studies to help with sleep by increasing the percentage of deep sleep for both men and women.

  • Additionally, those who use lavender for sleep report having more vigor in the morning.

• Stay away from peppermint and other minty scents in the evening.  

  • These have been shown to have an alerting effect rather than a sedating one.

In summary,  research shows that getting enough quality sleep at the right times is vital for your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety.

References

1. Importance of Sleep : Six reasons not to scrimp on sleep

2. Why Is Sleep Important?

3. Sleep essential for healthy living

4. 8 Cheap and Natural Insomnia Remedies

5. The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan by Michael Breus, PhD.

6. Knutson, K.L.  Impact of sleep and sleep loss on glucose homeostasis and appetite regulation.  Sleep Medicine Clinics 2007;2(2):187-97.

7. Patel, S.R., F.B. Hu.  Short sleep duration and weight gain: A systematic review.  Obesity (Silver Spring) 2008; 3:643-53.

8. Watanabe, M., H. Kikuchi, K. Tanaka, M. Takahashi.  Aoosication of short sleep duration with weight gain and obesity at 1-year follow-up: A large-scale prospective study.  Sleep 2010; 33:161-67.

9. Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil, MD

10. Shanafelt, T., D. Barton, A. Adjei, C. Lprinzi.  Pathophysiology and treatment of hot flashes.  Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2002;77:1207-18.

11. Lai, H.L., M. good. Music improves sleep quality in older adults.  Journal of Advanced Nursing 2004; 49(3):234-44.

12. Blumenthal, M., A. Goldberg, J. Brinckmann.  Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs.  Newton, MA: Integrative Medicine Communications, 2000, pp. 226-29.

13. Can spicy food really give you nightmares?

14. Burkhart K, Phelps JR. (26 December 2009). "Amber lenses to block blue light and improve sleep: a randomized trial."

15. Too Little Sleep May Fuel Insulin Resistance (Dr. Mercola)

16. Impaired Insulin Signaling in Human Adipocytes After Experimental Sleep Restriction: A Randomized, Crossover Study (Annals of Internal Medicine)

17. Growing Number of People Get Too Much Sleep

18. 自然睡醒头脑更清醒

19. A week's worth of camping synchs internal clock to sunrise and sunset, study finds

20. The Perfect Nap: Sleeping Is a Mix of Art and Science

21. Diabetes and the Night Shift Factor

22. Consistent Sleep, Wake Times Linked With Lower Body Fat Levels

23. Goodnight. Sleep Clean

    • Scientists have found that, when the mouse brain is sleeping or under anesthesia, it’s busy cleaning out the waste that accumulated while it was awake.

    • On average, we’re getting one to two hours less sleep a night than we did 50 to 100 years ago and 38 minutes less on weeknights than we did as little as 10 years ago. 

    • When our sleep is disturbed, whatever the cause, our cleaning system breaks down. 

24. How Mammals Tell Time

    • The body actually has many cellular clocks scattered throughout its tissues—in the liver, pancreas and elsewhere. Disruptions in any of the secondary clocks may increase an individual's risk of developing heart disease, diabetes or depression, among other conditions.

25. What "natural" sleep is

26. Reading from a tablet before bed may affect sleep quality

27. The Characteristics of Sleep

28. Iris (see the top video)

    • How to install and activate Iris

29. Why the clocks changing is great for your brain

    • Winter awakening with the aid of an artificial light (dawn simulation) was able to restore the CAR (i.e. cortisol awakening response). 

    • This finding is consistent with light exposure, especially morning light, being the most effective treatment for the winter blues.

30. Why we struggle to get good night's sleep as we get older