How much sleep do our bones need?

At last week's conference at the Northern California Institute for Bone Health, one of the presenters discussed the importance of sleep on bone health. We learned that bones need a minimum of six hours of sleep each night. (My guess is six hours of deep sleep is the most regenerative.)

Remember, our bones are organs and quite active at night, when the osteoclasts and osteoblasts (see thumbnail image) remove old bone and lay down new bone.

Getting a good night's sleep on a regular basis is central to our overall health, and now we know it's essential for bones too.

As we age, sleeping can become more problematic. Sometimes the answers are as simple as the following:

• Hot flashes causing the urge to urinate several times during the night.
• Furry friends sharing our bed and waking us up.
• Watching television two hours prior to going to bed. I had this experience myself last night watching the NBA finals, and it was a nailbiter! As a Warriors fan, I was unable to fall asleep until 1:30 AM.