Aging-related sleep changes.
Normal aging is accompanied by changes in the sleep quality, quantity, and architecture. Specifically, there appears to be a measurable decrease in the ability of the healthy elderly to initiate and maintain sleep, accompanied by a decrease in the proportion of the deeper, more restorative slow-wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep. There is epidemiologic evidence that this impaired ability to initiate, maintain, and ultimately achieve good quality, optimal sleep may be a marker of increased mortality and neurocognitive dysfunction. Possible mechanisms related to these age-related changes in sleep include age-related changes in circadian modulation, homeostatic factors, cardiopulmonary function, and endocrine function. This article describes the normal changes in sleep physiology in the elderly.
Espiritu
Joseph Roland D
JR
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 3635 Vista Avenue at Grand Boulevard, PO Box 15250, Saint Louis, MO 63110-0250, USA. espiritu@slu.edu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D017286:Polysomnography; D012119:Respiration; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000503:physiopathology; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
D013006:Growth Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone