"We found that older people are not sleeping particularly well, but they have considerably less sleep-related fatigue and irritability than younger people," said a sleep specialist with the Sleep Health Foundation, Professor Robert Adams.

"It's positive to see that despite some pretty significant disruption older people are, on the whole, less bothered by a bad night's sleep and wake feeling refreshed."

The data was collected from 1011 Australians and covered sleep habits, sleep problems, work life, income, mental health and personal details like age, sex and education. The sample included 175 people aged over 65.

"We found more than half (52 per cent) of older people wake a lot in the night, compared to 40 per cent of younger people. They're also more likely to wake too early (40 vs 33 per cent) and have just as much difficulty falling asleep at night," Professor Adams said.

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"But, and it's a big but, how they feel about this sleep differs considerably from working-age people. A third wake up feeling unrefreshed, compared with 48 per cent of other people, and 61 per cent feel they get adequate sleep, compared to 47 per cent of those under 65," he said.

Professor Adams believes a relaxed retiree lifestyle maybe behind the results: less general stress and more flexibility leads to less fatigue. "It's also possible that older Australians have learnt to mask their sleep problem with caffeine, as results show 28 per cent have four-to-five caffeinated drinks a day," Professor Adams said. "If that's the case that's nothing to celebrate." Caffeine in the evenings can compromise sleep quality.

Professor Adams said he thought people would be happy to know that increasing tiredness and fatigue are not an inevitable consequence of getting older. "In fact your sleep can actually improve with age." He warned that overall however, sleep issues reported in the study were quite significant, and any older Australians with concerns about their sleep should speak to their GP or a sleep specialist.

Dr Moira Junge, a board member of Sleep Health Foundation, added that large-scale international studies showed that sleeping well in young adulthood and middle age reduces the risk of obesity and hypertension, protects against age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease, and has been associated with decreased rates of depression.

"In fact, in some studies good sleep has even been shown to be associated with fewer signs of ageing in facial skin and better tissue tone. Getting your forty winks can help you feel better, be better, and look better too," Dr Junge said.