That's why you wake up early as you get older

Awind up earlier than the kids at the weekend to watch the cartoons, only the grandparents all week. And although it is not for the same purpose, it is also not always for excessive tasks. But there's a scientific explanation!

Sleep experts advance Huff Post which is also not for lack of sleep, “awaking earlier is part of the natural aging process.”.

Parthasarathy, director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences, Arizona University of Health Sciences, has left time delimiters, like sunset, meal hours, social interactions and physical activities they get less and less clear, that is, there is an increasing difficulty for these people to be able to locate at the time of the 24-hour circadian cycle.

Like other aspects of our physical and mental health, the brain becomes less reactive as we age: “The brain’s response capacity is no longer so accurate, so, does not react to some stimuli as well as it should”.

According to Parthasarthy, this inability of the brain to perceive time markers is one of the reasons why older people tend to tire before their children or grandchildren and, as a result, “wake also earlier.”. 

Nevertheless, this phenomenon can be linked to other health conditions. A professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, Cindy Lustig, explains to the same source that “the light that our eyes absorb also influences this process.”.

The expert points out that “the changes in vision that come with age reduce the intensity of the degree of luminous stimulation that our brain receives and that it plays an important role in adjusting our circadian clock” and that consequently helps it to keep “in the right way”.

But what does that reflect on?

Parthasarathy explains that for people with cataracts, this condition that causes symptoms of “ blurry vision, double vision and general difficulty in vision”, can interfere with sleep rhythms.

“ For those with cataracts, the light of evening does not enter so much in the eyes, so, for the brain, the sunset happens sooner than the moment it actually set ", describes the doctor.

At this time, there is less light entering the eyes, “the body begins to release melatonin (the sleep hormone) before it should”, while for younger people, melatonin “begins to increase soon after sunset”.

These experts stress the need to seek medical help if they feel that symptoms of tiredness and changes in schedules become marked.