How to sleep easier after retirement?

Men and women both feel unbalanced after retirement, especially finding it difficult to sleep at retirement age. This condition increases with age and the fact that older people have more difficulty sleeping than younger people. So how to sleep easier after retirement?

A few previous studies have shown a link between sleep and retirement, a particularly trendy topic, as the big baby boomer generation is now transitioning into retirement. Not only is sleep an important trait of health and well-being, but it is also strongly associated with work performance, as poor sleep is associated with lower work productivity, absenteeism and accidents as well as sick leave.
Thus, adequate quantity and quality of sleep are potential factors to be considered when extending labor force participation and postponing retirement. Regarding the link between sleep and retirement, another interesting view is how sleep changes as people retire from work. Retirement offers the optimal opportunity for positive changes in sleep as working hours no longer dominate sleep duration and work-related stressors are eliminated.
A new study indicates that retirement can lead to better sleep for people who don't retire for health reasons. Reporting in the journal Sleep, Finnish scientists say the prevalence of sleep disorders plummets after retirement. This suggests that managing and pivoting results from work-related demands and stressors, the researchers say. They argue that retirement has health benefits, but sleep can be improved by reducing stress.
What is the cause of difficulty sleeping in retirement? "In countries that do not have adequate pensions to ensure financial security beyond working age, retirement can be a problem," says researcher Jussi Vahtera, MD, PhD of the University of Turku in Finland. suffering from severe stress, sleep disturbances, and even greater degrees of this condition than before retirement."
The researchers analyzed the records of employees from France's national gas and electricity company, Electricite de France-Gaz de France, who retired between 1990 and 2006. Employees are entitled to a pension 80% of their salary. Analyzed data from 11,581 male employees and 3,133 female employees who reported having difficulty sleeping at retirement age at least once before and once after the year of retirement. Of the study participants, 72% retired by age 55 and 99% by age 60.
Annual surveys are taken from seven years before retirement and seven years after retirement. Participants answered questions about their health, lifestyle, personal, family, social and professional issues. The company also collects occupational and health data.
The results show that sleep difficulty retirement age increases slowly with age and the researchers say this is evident both before and after retirement. However, overall sleep disturbance levels were lower after retirement.
Before retirement, the researchers wrote that 22%-24% of participants reported experiencing sleep disturbances in any given year, but this number dropped to 17.8% within the first year after retirement. retirement. Although it increased to 19.7% in the seventh year after retirement, it was still lower than it was before retirement during the study period.

Therefore, to improve sleep after retirement is related to 4% of people who retire based on health reasons. Today, when people are expected to live many years past traditional retirement age, steps should be taken to help older workers stay economically active, the researchers say, as long as those steps are taken, the researchers say. so do not affect their health and sleep problems in the future retirement age.
However, as more and more people work past the retirement age, most Western countries are pushing the retirement age higher. "The fact that sleep disturbances tend to decrease after retirement raises the question of whether individuals' health and well-being are significantly impaired while they are still working," the researchers write. ?” It is a major challenge to improve the quality of work life in Western societies, where the costs of aging populations can only be met through increasing average retirement ages.

When people retire from work, they sleep about 20 minutes longer than they did before retirement. Sleep quality also improves as retirees experience fewer early morning awakenings or unrefreshing sleep, unlike their last years of work.
Researchers at the University of Turku, Finland, in collaboration with the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the University of Helsinki and the Medical College of London, have found that sleep time has increased by about 20 minutes. post-retirement and remain at the level achieved for many years after you retire.
Increased sleep time especially for those who have trouble sleeping or heavy alcohol use before retirement. Sleep duration increased the most for those who didn't get enough sleep during work and who slept 45 minutes longer during retirement.
Adequate sleep is important for our health and functioning. Everyone has different sleep needs, but people over 65 should sleep 7-8 hours a night. PhD candidate Saana Myllyn Tausta from the University of Turku, whose thesis work was part of the study, says retirement makes it possible for people to sleep longer, as work schedules no longer determine sleep duration. and wake up.

During the final working years of those preparing to retire, 30% of people experience various sleep difficulties. After retirement, only 26% of people have trouble sleeping retirement age. The researchers found that, among different types of sleep difficulties, especially with early morning awakening and unrefreshing sleep, people felt fatigued after sleeping for a long time. Difficulty sleeping retirement age decreases especially in those who experienced stressful work and their health was poor before retirement. Difficulty sleeping decreased the most for those who experienced anxiety before retirement.
For example, work-related stress is known to disrupt sleep. Myllyn Tausta says one reason for the reduction in sleep problems in retirement could be the elimination of work-related stress.
The study followed approximately 5,800 people who participated in the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health's Finnish Public Sector study and who had a statutory retirement in 2000-2011. Participants estimated their sleep duration and prevalence of different types of sleep difficulties in pre- and post-retirement surveys.

Sleep is an important physiological activity, helping your body to rest and recover, maintaining a state of excitement for retirees. Good, deep sleep promotes better moods, clearer thoughts, and better decisions. Here are some solutions to overcome difficulty sleeping in retirement.
Turn off the blue light source 1 hour to 2 hours before bed The blue light emitted by electronic devices has been shown to disrupt your body's natural circadian rhythms, making your mind Maintains alertness and will prevent sleep from coming. So, to sleep better, turn off electronic devices 1-2 hours before bedtime. If you have a habit of reading before bed, then you should choose paper books instead of iPad or Kindle. When you read books on the screen, you will find it harder to fall asleep and the level of the hormone melatonin will be lower, making your sleep less deep and you may feel less alert when you wake up.
Say "no" to drinking coffee after 2 pm Many of us often drink coffee in the early afternoon to help us be more alert, focus and deal with the rest of the day's workload. However, do not do this if you want to go to bed between 9 and 10 pm. Drinking coffee late, at night, the amount of caffeine is still circulating in your body, making you "awake like a flute", your mind cannot relax but invite sleep.
Gentle exercise Gentle exercise before bed can help you release some of the stress and anxiety that builds up throughout the day. Just from 15 minutes to 20 minutes of practicing basic yoga movements or practicing tai chi to regulate your breathing and relax your muscles, you will find your mind and body much calmer, calmer and more relaxed. healthier. With a light mind, when you lie in bed, you also find it easier to focus on sleeping, undisturbed by thoughts about the happenings of the day.
Establish a proper and adequate sleep routine If you're in bed and you can't fall asleep for half an hour or more, get out of your bedroom to do something relaxing. Lying tossing and turning for too long will make you uncomfortable, this feeling of impatience makes it even more difficult to sleep.
Drink chamomile tea, herbal tea to help you relax Chamomile or herbal tea is a great helper for your sleep, as it helps your body relax. Drink a small cup of chamomile tea an hour before bed (around the same time you turn off your phone) and enjoy the warm tea that gently moves through your body, helping you relax from your fingertips. feet to the top of the head.
Aromatherapy Pleasant scents, such as lavender, jasmine, chrysanthemum... can help you relax your nerves, supporting a deep sleep. When you read a book before you go to bed, you can light a scented candle or essential oil with these easy-to-sleep scents, so that the scent slowly soothes your temples and brain, making the whole body relax and gradually relax. gradually feel sleepy.

Take a warm bath before sleeping Soaking in warm water will help you relax your muscles, making your whole body relaxed. Warm water triggers our body to fall into a slower mode, heart rate and breathing slow down making it easier for us to enter the “dreamland” of sleep. However, it is not recommended to take a late bath after 9 pm, because bathing late can cause you to catch a cold, which will even be dangerous to your health.
Keep blankets, mattress warm A soft bed with comfortable pillows will give you a feeling of safety, love and protection. Change pillowcases, blankets and sheets regularly to ensure hygiene and help you sleep better.
Sleeping in a quiet space is also important to get a good night's sleep. Studies show that exposure to low-frequency noise and traffic noise keeps us from sleeping properly. Therefore, if your home is located in the middle of an urban area, you can consider replacing the windows with noise-canceling ones.
Read a few pages of a book Entering a new world in the pages of books will help you reduce the stress in reality and relax your mind. In addition, reading books before going to sleep is also a way to train the mind to be sharp and have a good memory.
Use a night light with very warm light Warm light streams such as yellow, orange, and light red will create a feeling of relaxation for us in the evening and ready for sleep. Therefore, about 1 hour before bedtime, you can turn off the white and blue lights, just turn on the warm light to "trick" our body into a state of rest.

References: sciencedaily.com, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, webmd.com