An Observational Study of Sleep of the Aged

9 males and 10 females with a mean age of 77 yr. and with only the general debilities of aging were observed for two 36-hr. periods in 15-min. intervals. Sleep and waking behavior was recorded. Ss spent almost half of their time in bed; their sleep was often interrupted by wakefulness; almost all took one or more naps; the nap lengths were unrelated to the length of night sleep. The sleep of the elderly is certainly no less than that of younger Ss and, for the male, is perhaps longer and more variable between Ss. Sleep amounts from period to period were significantly correlated.