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Skin temperature and sleep-onset latency: changes with age and insomnia
Roy J E M Raymann1, Dick F Swaab, Eus J W Van Someren
1Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN), Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. R.Raymann@nin.knaw.nl
Physiology & Behavior
|October 31, 2006
Summary
Warming the feet before sleep can help initiate sleep, but this effect is reduced in older adults and those with insomnia. Age and insomnia impact the body's response to foot warming for sleep.
Area of Science:
- Sleep Science
- Thermoregulation
- Gerontology
Background:
- Sleep-wake cycles are linked to body temperature fluctuations.
- Skin temperature changes can influence sleep initiation and maintenance.
- A neurobiological mechanism links skin temperature to sleep propensity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the relationship between skin temperature and sleep-onset latency.
- To present new data on age- and insomnia-related changes in sleep-onset latency response to foot warming.
- To evaluate foot warming strategies for sleep complaints.
Main Methods:
- Review of previous findings on skin temperature and sleep.
- Experimental manipulation of foot temperature using footbaths and bed socks.
- Assessment of sleep-onset latency in adults, elderly subjects, and elderly insomniacs.
Main Results:
- In adults, foot warming accelerated sleep onset, correlating with increased foot temperature.
- This effect was attenuated in elderly subjects.
- Elderly subjects showed reduced foot temperature increase and lost the link between pre-sleep heat loss and sleep latency.
- No foot warming method accelerated sleep onset in elderly insomniacs.
Conclusions:
- Sleep propensity sensitivity to foot warming varies with age.
- Age-related insomnia is associated with an attenuated response to foot warming interventions.
- Foot warming may be less effective for sleep complaints in the elderly, particularly those with insomnia.
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