Simple environmental design solutions to support sleep for healthy aging by Regina Vaicekonyte, MS, WELL AP; Carolyn Swope, MPH, WELL AP; Stephanie Timm, PhD, LEED AP, WELL AP; and Whitney Austin Gray

It is commonly believed that poor sleep is part of the normal aging process. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be, as many healthy older adults have few to no issues sleeping. However, about 70% of aging adults do experience sleep disturbances. New research is revealing how sleep can be impacted by our built environment-such as noise, temperature or light pollution-and offers new opportunities for sleep promotion. Although people are often encouraged to simply change their behavior, that's easier said than done. Alternatives such as sleeping pills and alcohol are used as seemingly "quick fixes." Instead, changing our built environment to support sleep makes the healthy choice the easy choice-and can benefit a community's bottom line, too.