Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Sleep-Wake Cycles01:24

Sleep-Wake Cycles

3.0K
Sleep is an essential physiological process vital to maintaining overall well-being. The reticular activating system (RAS), a network of neurons in the brainstem, regulates wakefulness and sleep. While it may seem passive, sleep consists of distinct cycles, each with its unique characteristics and functions. Two key sleep phases are non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and  rapid eye movement (REM).
NREM Sleep
NREM sleep comprises four progressive stages that seamlessly merge:
3.0K
Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation01:13

Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation

1.4K
Insufficient sleep refers to not getting the recommended amount of sleep for optimal functioning, even if it's just slightly less than needed. Sleep insufficiency may occur due to lifestyle choices, such as staying up late for social events or work, resulting in routinely getting less sleep than required. For example, consistently sleeping 6 hours when the body needs 7-9 hours can lead to cumulative effects on health and well-being.
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
1.4K
Stages of Sleep01:22

Stages of Sleep

1.6K
Sleep progresses through distinct stages, each characterized by specific brain wave patterns and physiological responses ranging from wakefulness to stages of non-rapid eye movement, known as non-REM, to rapid eye movement, referred to as REM. Understanding these stages helps in recognizing how sleep supports various bodily and cognitive functions.
Before sleep begins, in wakefulness, the brain exhibits primarily beta waves, which are high in frequency and low in amplitude, indicating alertness...
1.6K
Understanding Sleep01:11

Understanding Sleep

1.7K
Sleep, an essential biological state, involves significant reductions in physical activity, sensory awareness, and interaction with the environment. This complex physiological process is primarily regulated by specific brain regions, notably the hypothalamus and pons, which govern the sleep-wake cycle or circadian rhythm.
The circadian rhythm, a nearly 24-hour cycle, is deeply influenced by environmental light cues. Light exposure directly affects the hypothalamus, which in turn regulates...
1.7K
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age01:27

Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age

367
Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...
367

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Brief re-reading boosts sleep-related prose memory consolidation.

Sleep medicine: X·2026
Same author

Systematic discovery of UFM1 receptors reveals a regulatory module in DNA repair directing non-homologous end-joining.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Evaluating Oncological Outcomes in Patients with Multiple PiRADS Lesion Treated with Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy for Prostate Cancer: Results from a Large Contemporary Cohort with Centralized MpMRI Evaluation in a High-Volume Center.

Journal of clinical medicine·2026
Same author

Stress Fracture in Athletes: A Practical Approach.

Journal of clinical medicine·2026
Same author

Office-based transperineal laser ablation in patients with large prostates (≥80 mL): real-world evidence of safety and efficacy from a prospective single center cohort.

Minerva urology and nephrology·2026
Same author

Safe to Spare? Predictors of Oncological Safety for Nerve-Sparing Technique during Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy in High-Risk Prostate Cancer. Insight from a High Volume Center with Centralized mpMRI Review.

International braz j urol : official journal of the Brazilian Society of Urology·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 1, 2026

Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults
07:40

Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults

Published on: January 26, 2019

7.3K

Sleep measures expressing 'functional uncertainty' in elderlies' sleep.

Francesca Conte1, Cinzia Arzilli, Bruna Maria Errico

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Naples II, Caserta, Italy.

Gerontology
|April 16, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Sleep instability and fragmentation increase with age, indicating functional uncertainty in older adults. These markers suggest declining sleep quality and could aid in sleep assessments for the elderly.

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Overcoming Challenges in Drosophila Sleep Measurement Using DAM System
05:59

Author Spotlight: Overcoming Challenges in Drosophila Sleep Measurement Using DAM System

Published on: October 20, 2023

2.9K
Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
08:20

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood

Published on: October 2, 2019

10.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 1, 2026

Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults
07:40

Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults

Published on: January 26, 2019

7.3K
Author Spotlight: Overcoming Challenges in Drosophila Sleep Measurement Using DAM System
05:59

Author Spotlight: Overcoming Challenges in Drosophila Sleep Measurement Using DAM System

Published on: October 20, 2023

2.9K
Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
08:20

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood

Published on: October 2, 2019

10.8K

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Sleep Science
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Functional uncertainty in sleep describes the central nervous system's reduced ability to maintain stable physiological states.
  • While observed in infants and hypothesized in the elderly, functional uncertainty in aged populations remains under-investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify sleep instability and fragmentation as markers of functional uncertainty in healthy elderly individuals.
  • To compare sleep patterns in healthy elderly subjects with those of young adults.

Main Methods:

  • Polysomnographic recordings from 20 healthy elderly (65-85 years) and 20 young (22-32 years) adults were analyzed.
  • Key variables assessed included sleep continuity (arousals, awakenings), stability (state transitions), and cyclic organization.

Main Results:

  • Elderly subjects exhibited significantly higher indexes of sleep fragmentation and instability compared to young adults.
  • The aged group demonstrated fewer and shorter sleep cycles, with reduced time spent in cyclic patterns.

Conclusions:

  • Aging is associated with progressive disruption of sleep quality, characterized by increased instability, fragmentation, and disorganization.
  • Functional uncertainty measures are proposed as valuable indexes for assessing sleep quality in aged and sleep-disordered populations.