Behavioral responsiveness in sleeping older adults

The control of behavior by stimuli presented during sleep, and related effects on sleep and daytime sleepiness, were investigated in 17 older (age = 60-74 years) adults. Experimental subjects (N = 8) were trained while awake to terminate tone presentations by taking a deep breath. Tones were then presented following sleep onset for four consecutive nights with a mean intertone interval of 4 min. Control subjects (N = 9) slept in the laboratory but did not receive tones. The daytime sleepiness of both groups was assessed by recording latency to sleep onset in a morning and afternoon nap test. It was found that the experimental subjects responded reliably to the tones. Responding, however, was almost invariably accompanied by disruption of sleep and overall sleep structure was markedly altered. Surprisingly, the daytime sleepiness of experimental subjects was not reliably greater than that of control subjects.