Reuters Health is reporting a study in the journal Sleep that found that regular practice of tai chi, a Westernized version of the ancient Chinese martial art of tai chi, can help older people rest easier at night. Nearly two-thirds of people who learned the slow, gentle tai chi moves experienced significant improvements in sleep quality, compared to about one-third of those who participated in health education sessions that included information on how to get a better night’s rest.

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HealthDay News is reporting a study showing that normal sleep is associated with healthy aging. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego assessed 2,226 women aged 60 and older and found increased severity of sleep disturbances predicted lower self-rated successful aging and a greater difference between perceived and actual age.

HealthDay News is reporting a study showing that a session of moderate aerobic exercise can help reduce anxiety and improve the quality of sleep for insomnia patients – while heavy aerobic or moderate strength exercises don’t have the same effect.

HealthDay News reports that as the pace of life gets faster and faster, and people try to cram more and more into every minute of the day.

Before Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1880, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. These days, Americans average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours a night on weekends, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

But lack of sleep affects a person in one of two ways.