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Core body temperature is elevated during constant wakefulness in elderly poor sleepers.
K Lushington1, D Dawson, L Lack
1School of Psychology, University of South Australia, Australia. kurt.lushington@unisa.edu.au
Sleep
|June 30, 2000
Summary
Elderly individuals with more nighttime wakefulness had lower core body temperatures, suggesting physiological activation may underlie sleep maintenance insomnia. This was evident when using objective sleep data and constant wakefulness temperature monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Sleep Medicine
- Physiology
Background:
- Sleep maintenance insomnia is prevalent in the elderly.
- Physiological factors contributing to insomnia require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare physiological activity, specifically core body temperature, between elderly poor and good sleepers.
- To investigate the relationship between objective sleep measures and core body temperature.
Main Methods:
- A five-day protocol involving polysomnography (PSG) and continuous rectal temperature monitoring.
- Participants included 16 elderly sleep maintenance insomniacs and 16 elderly good sleepers.
- Subjects were monitored under ad lib sleep and constant wakefulness conditions.
Main Results:
- Core body temperature differences were significant when subjects were grouped by objective PSG data (wake after sleep onset - WASO), but not by subjective sleep status.
- Individuals with less WASO (better sleepers) exhibited lower sleep and nighttime constant wakeful core body temperatures.
- Lower WASO correlated with lower core body temperature.
Conclusions:
- Elevated core body temperature is associated with increased nocturnal wakefulness in the elderly.
- Physiological activation, indicated by higher core body temperature, may underlie sleep maintenance insomnia.
- Objective measures of sleep and temperature under constant wakefulness provide significant insights.