Are you getting enough ZZZs?

How do you define a good night's sleep? I need at least eight hours to feel rested, while my husband needs six.

Robert Stickgold, director of the Center for Sleep and Cognition at Harvard Medical School, claims, "Americans sleep less than seven hours a night, about two hours less than a century ago. In our restless, floodlit society, we often think of sleep as an adversary." ("Want to Fall Asleep? Read this Story," Michael Finkel, August 2018 National Geographic)

Stickgold claims that anyone "who regularly sleeps less than six hours has a higher risk of depression, psychosis, stroke and obesity."

I have always heard that older people need less sleep than younger people, but when I began to read more about this topic, I discovered that older adults need about the same amount of sleep as younger adults (7-9 hours nightly).

The National Science Foundation says, "As people age, they tend to have a harder time falling asleep and more trouble staying asleep than when they were younger. It is a common misconception that sleep needs decline with age."

One study of adults over 65 found that 13 percent of men and 36 percent of women take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep. Also, older people often sleep less deeply and wake up more often throughout the night. No kidding.

Before I retired, I would begin to stress about sleep almost every Sunday evening. I would obsess, thinking that I had to get a good night's sleep or I wouldn't have a productive or enjoyable day. Lunch was packed, lessons were planned, clothes ready to wear. Of course, I would wake up at 3 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep.

One of my friends used to say that she hated it when she fell asleep too early. That she relished going over the events of the day. I thought she was crazy. I wanted sleep to come instantly, like Minute Rice.

In my quest to come up with this new and exciting column idea, the most interesting fact I learned about sleep is that when we are asleep, we are editing the information we collected during the day. This doesn't seem fair. I don't want to edit at night, do you? For God's sake, let my brain rest.

For me, the best chance I have for a good night's sleep is to limit alcohol, and avoid any violent television and light sources of any type. I am worse than that child with the closet door open a crack.

Blackout shades down. Fans off. They can hum at any random time. Clocks face the wall like obedient soldiers. Be certain to turn even the tiny Sonic toothbrush's red dot light away from view. Ask if the thermostat is still programmed to the cool, cave-like setting. I swear he turns it up after I'm asleep.

And here's the most important part for me: Do not say to myself, I must get a good night's sleep.

And do not think about how everyone else gets to see their children and grandchildren way more often than I do. Don't think. Don't edit. Breathe. And maybe go the bathroom one last time.