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Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Employing the Forced Oscillation Technique for the Assessment of Respiratory Mechanics in Adults
Published on: February 9, 2022
Deglutition and respiratory patterns during sleep in younger adults
Kiminori Sato1, Hirohito Umeno, Shun-Ichi Chitose
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan. kimisato@oct-net.ne.jp
Conclusion:
Deglutition was infrequent and displayed unique patterns during sleep in healthy younger adults.
Objectives:
The deglutition, electroencephalographic arousal, and respiratory phase patterns during sleep in younger adults were investigated.
Methods:
Ten younger adults were examined via time-matched recordings of polysomnography and surface electromyography.
Results:
During sleep, swallowing was infrequent and absent for long periods. The mean number of swallows per hour during the total sleep time was 2.4 ± 1.0. The mean longest deglutition-free period was 68.8 ± 24.8 min. Most deglutition occurred in association with spontaneous electroencephalographic arousal. Deglutition was related to the sleep stage. The mean number of swallows per hour was 11.2 ± 8.1 during stage 1 sleep, 1.9 ± 1.0 during stage 2 sleep, 0.5 ± 1.5 during stage 3 sleep, and 0.2 ± 0.5 during stage 4 sleep. The deeper the sleep stage, the lower the mean deglutition frequency. The mean number of swallows per hour was 1.9 ± 1.7 during rapid eye movement sleep. The deeper the sleep stage, the lower the mean arousal frequency and the lower the mean ratio of arousal with deglutition to arousal. Approximately 60% of swallows were followed by arrested breathing and approximately 25% by expiration.
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