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Sleep positions and position shifts in five age groups: an ontogenetic picture
J De Koninck1, D Lorrain, P Gagnon
1School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Insights
Human sleep position changes decrease with age, with fewer shifts and longer immobility periods observed. Children equally adopt various sleep positions, while adults increasingly prefer specific sides, especially the elderly.
Area of Science:
- Human Physiology
- Sleep Science
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Sleep position and postural shifts are crucial for sleep quality and physiological regulation.
- Understanding the ontogeny of sleep behaviors provides insights into human development and aging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the developmental trajectory of sleep positions and postural shifts across the human lifespan.
- To quantify age-related changes in sleep position frequency and duration.
Main Methods:
- Polysomnography was used to record sleep in 10 subjects per age group (3-5, 8-12, 18-24, 35-45, 65-80 years).
- Sleep positions were monitored using a Super 8 Camera on nights 3 and 4, with positions scored across four body dimensions.
- Data analysis focused on the number of position shifts and the duration of postural immobility.
Main Results:
- A significant decrease in the average number of sleep position shifts per hour was observed with increasing age.
- The duration of postural immobility periods, particularly those exceeding 30 minutes, progressively increased with age.
- While children exhibited equal proportions of prone, supine, and lateral positions, a decline in prone sleeping and a preference for right-side positions emerged with age.
Conclusions:
- Sleep position patterns undergo significant developmental changes throughout the human lifespan.
- Reduced sleep-related movement and a shift towards specific sleep positions are characteristic of aging.
- These findings contribute to understanding age-related alterations in sleep architecture and physiology.
Abstract:
In an attempt to characterize the development of sleep positions and position shifts in the human, 10 subjects (5 males and 5 females) in each of the following five age groups were studied: 3-5, 8-12, 18-24, 35-45 and 65-80 years old. Subjects slept for four consecutive nights (except the 3-5 year olds who slept two nights) in the laboratory where standard polysomnography was recorded. On nights 3 and 4, sleep positions were recorded with a Super 8 Camera taking one frame every 8 seconds and were scored using four dimensions (head, trunk, legs and arms) each consisting of four categories. The results revealed a significant ontogenetic decrease in the number of position shifts with averages of 4.4, 4.7, 3.6, 2.7 and 2.1 changes per hour, respectively. There was a corresponding progressive increase in the duration of positions and in the number of periods of more than 30 minutes of postural immobility. Whereas in children, prone, supine and lateral positions were assumed to occupy an equal proportion of sleep time, trend analyses revealed a significant progressive ontogenetic disappearance of prone positions and a progressive preference, very marked in the elderly, for right-side positions.