[Senior Trend] Sleep is One-Third of Life, Sleeping Well Helps You Age Less

The Sleep Tech market is booming. Products designed to help achieve healthy sleep and promote "good sleep" are flooding the market. From bedding items familiar to seniors, such as mattresses, pillows, and eye masks, to sleep aids like supplements, therapy treatments, lighting, sound, furniture, and aromatherapy, the range is diverse.

Centered around the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), the limited scope that only those interested in IoT (Internet of Things) could access has expanded, as devices like the Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch now include features that analyze sleep rhythms and patterns, making usage easier. Additionally, AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology has enabled personalization of existing products. Some devices increase total sleep time through sleep inducers, others include rocking functions like baby cribs, or provide optimal temperatures tailored to individuals. Lighting is also used to help activate melatonin and design sleep rhythms.

The Korea Sleep Industry Association reports that the domestic sleep-related market, which was around 480 billion KRW 10 years ago, grew to about 3 trillion KRW in 2022. According to market research firm Global Market Insights, the global sleep tech market size is expected to grow from $15 billion in 2019 to approximately $32.1 billion by 2026.

Underlying this growth are sleep deprivation and insomnia. It is not easy to answer the question, "Did you sleep well last night?" The number of people experiencing "sleep disorders" is increasing. According to the National Health Insurance Service, the number of sleep disorder patients in Korea rose from 460,000 in 2015 to 670,000 in 2020. On March 17, World Sleep Day, ResMed conducted a global sleep awareness survey across 12 countries, revealing that Koreans’ average sleep duration was 6.9 hours, shorter than the 12-country average of 7.16 hours. Satisfaction with both the quantity and quality of sleep was also more than 15 percentage points lower. While about 10% responded that they feel refreshed and happy upon waking, over 59% reported feeling tired and unhappy. In statistics comparing sleep times worldwide, Korea consistently ranks first or second alongside Japan in the "countries with the shortest sleep duration" category. We live in a country known for having the largest "sleep debt" in the world.

The author has always been a heavy sleeper and would nap whenever possible, sometimes teased for having sleep as a hobby. During school days when the saying "Four hours of sleep is enough" (4당5락) was considered gospel, reducing sleep was very difficult. Nowadays, no matter how exhausting the day, the author wakes up early the next morning. With age, late sleeping is becoming less common, evoking a sense of generational change. Around the age of 40, the author began exploring how to achieve deep sleep. According to research from the University of California, Berkeley, deep sleep (non-REM sleep) decreases with age. This symptom starts in middle age, so aging plays a role. Men experience more severe declines in sleep-related brain functions than women. However, sensitivity to sleep decreases with age, so mild sleep disorders often go unnoticed. Many dismiss it as "losing sleep with age." While it is true that sleep disorders become more common with age, healthy elderly individuals reportedly have better sleep quantity and quality than average seniors, indicating the importance of exploring sleep.

If we live 90 years, we spend 30 years sleeping. That is over 220,000 hours?an enormous amount of time. It is said that 10,000 hours of focused practice can make one an expert; if sleep time could be reduced by just 10%, one might excel in two or more areas. Naturally, many studies answer the question of why we need sleep: it is essential for survival. Sleep is not a waste but a necessity. It is linked to memory and cognitive functions. During sleep, the brain sorts long-term and short-term memories, discarding unnecessary information. Moreover, sleep helps forget sad and painful experiences and supports immune system regeneration and self-repair. The saying "sleep is the best medicine" is true. Sleep is that important in life.

Recently, the director of the Sleep Medicine Center at Seoul National University Hospital appeared on the TV program "You Quiz on the Block: Everyday Heroes." He explained that if one or more of the following three symptoms persist for more than three months despite having enough time and opportunity?difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, or difficulty waking up in the morning?it can be considered insomnia. He provided practical advice for healthy sleep habits: first, wake up at a fixed time and get out of bed; second, remove clocks from the room to avoid checking the time anxiously during the night; third, reduce coffee intake.

An interesting part was the truths and myths about sleep. It is not true that simply closing your eyes has the same effect as sleeping, that sleeping in 90-minute intervals minimizes fatigue, or that sleeping under heavy, thick blankets promotes deep sleep. Also, it is generally better to have no light or sound, but the so-called "golden hours" from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. are not necessarily ideal for everyone unless one is a teenager needing growth hormones. Instead, sleep times should be assigned around eight hours depending on whether one is a morning or evening person. Environmental factors should be based on personal comfort. Just as relying solely on a backup battery is unreliable, the advice to give our bodies and minds enough time to recharge overnight, like charging a phone, resonated deeply.

The saying "sleep well to age less" was emphasized at length. Seniors will nod in agreement that sleep becomes more precious with age. Numerous studies show that sleep quantity and quality affect dementia, diabetes, cancer, and lifespan. Sleeping well and living healthily seems to be the best investment. I hope you have a refreshing sleep tonight as well.

Lee Boram, CEO of Third Age

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.