Retirement can disrupt your sleep. How to sleep healthy and avoid the 'forbidden zone.'

By Morey Stettner

After you retire, your sleep patterns can change

Newly minted retirees adjust to a new, unfettered lifestyle. They have the freedom to fill their days however they wish. And they can sleep as late as they want.

But should they?

Research links healthy sleep habits with longevity. So how should recent retirees tweak their sleep cycle, if at all, to maximize their health and wellness?

"Once you retire, you can spend more time in bed than is appropriate," warned Brienne Miner, MD, a geriatrician and sleep physician at Yale School of Medicine. "That in itself can cause sleep problems. Our body thrives on rhythms, so it's best to stay on a regular sleep schedule."

While sticking to a predictable sleep routine is a healthy habit, you can gain additional benefits by taking a short nap in the early afternoon. Older folks may enjoy napping after years of working long shifts and not having the option to take a siesta.

Some studies show that napping for 30 minutes or less can help with cardiovascular health and cognitive function, Miner says. But that's assuming you sleep well overnight for seven to eight hours.

"The ideal nap time is before 3 p.m.," she said. "You want to avoid an evening nap, between 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. We call that the forbidden zone," when a nap before bedtime can disrupt your nightly sleep.

If you're struggling with insomnia, daytime napping probably won't help you sleep soundly at night--and can make matters worse. That's because the rest that comes with a nap might exacerbate your restlessness at bedtime.

"If you have trouble sleeping, it's not helpful to nap," Miner said. "Instead, you want to avoid napping so that you build up that sleep pressure" to increase the likelihood of dozing off at night.

Now that you've graduated from the workaday grind, you have more choice in how you spend your waking hours. Opt for more, not less, social and physical engagement.

"Daytime activity is important to sleep well," Miner said. "When you retire, you don't want a sedentary lifestyle."

Filling your day with goals and tasks keeps you busy and fulfilled as you transition into retirement. Better yet, it burns energy. From exercising to socializing to volunteering, a diverse mix of stimulating activities can re-create the kind of dutiful, meaningful days that translate into peaceful, sleep-filled nights.

Freshly retired folks tend to adjust well to their new schedule. Freed from the rigors of the workweek, they may feel a sense of liberation.

"There seems to be an improvement in self-reported sleep among people after they retire," said Adam Spira, Ph.D., a professor and sleep researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "With less work stress, they can sleep better and maybe a little bit more."

For ages 65 and up, seven to eight hours of sleep a night is best, Spira says. Getting much more than eight hours a night isn't ideal.

"More is not better," Spira said. "Longer sleep is linked to bad outcomes in older adults."

Risks of excessive sleep for seniors include cardiovascular and cognitive decline. An older person who's routinely sleeping 12 or more hours per 24-hour cycle may have an unidentified health issue or experience a side effect from a drug.

"A lot of medications that older adults take can affect sleep patterns," Spira said. "They can also have cognitive consequences."

He adds that some retirees find themselves going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. That's not a problem if you establish a new rhythm--and you condition your body and brain to expect the new normal.

"Some older adults don't initially like the way they're sleeping as it feels out of sync," Spira said. "But if you start going to bed at 10 p.m. and getting up at 5 a.m., that's fine even if it feels strange at first to be up that early."

-Morey Stettner

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08-25-23 1411ET

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