32. How we talk about sleep in old age
09 September 2025

32. How we talk about sleep in old age

Learning How To Be Old

About

When we are old, alarming messages about sleep bombard us. My guest Associate Professor Rosie Gibson from Massey University and her colleague Mary Breheny found that "good" sleep in old age is often reported as a magic cure — and "bad" sleep as a terrible risk. In three "Words on Sleep" workshops, 40 people over 75 wrote poems about sleeping that suggest a more pragmatic and positive view of sleeping. Rosie and I toss around ideas and poems and stories. Listen as an antidote to sleep worries, if you have them.








    Associate Professor Rosie Gibson



    Sleep perfectionists: the exhausting rise of orthosomnia



    Sleep Hygiene by Jill Khoury



    My bed is a boat by RL Stevenson