Effects of Chronic Sleep Restriction in Young and Older People
Summary
The purpose of this study is to examine the consequences of chronic sleep restriction on nighttime sleep, daytime alertness, performance and memory functions, and metabolic and cardiovascular function, and to determine if the consequences of chronic sleep restriction differ between healthy young and older adults.
Description
It has long been recognized that sleep patterns change with age. A common feature of aging is the advance of the timing of sleep to earlier hours, often earlier than desired. Polysomnographically-recorded sleep in older people shows an increased number of awakenings, a reduction of stages 3 and 4 (SWS) sleep, and a flattening of REM sleep distribution throughout the night. These age-related changes are found in even healthy individuals who are not taking medications and who are free from sleep disorders. In addition to these sleep disturbances, many older individuals curtail their sleep voluntarily, reporting similar rates of sleep restriction (sleeping less than 7 or less than 6 hours per night) as young adults. Whether voluntary or not, insufficient sleep has medical, safety and metabolic consequences. In fact, converging evidence in young adults suggests that sleep restriction per se may impair metabolism, and that reduced sleep duration is associated with weight gain, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality.
The study begins with 21 days of outpatient study in which the participants will be required to sleep for 10 hours each night in order to ensure they are well-rested. This will be followed by a 39-day inpatient study. The study will begin with 3 "sleep satiation" days during which all participants will be scheduled to sleep for 12 hours per night and have a 4 hour nap each afternoon. This is followed by 3 baseline days in which the participants will follow the same sleep-wake schedule they were following at home. Following this, the participant will undergo 3 weeks of chronic sleep restriction while living on a non-24-hour schedule. The participant will live on a schedule that is equivalent to 5.6 hours of sleep per 24 hours. Following these 3 weeks, the participant will be scheduled to again sleep for 10 hours per night for 10 nights.
Study Design
Allocation: Non-Randomized, Control: Uncontrolled, Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment, Masking: Open Label
Conditions
Aging
Intervention
chronic sleep restriction
Location
Brigham & Women's Hospital
Boston
Massachusetts
United States
02115
Status
Recruiting
Source
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Results (where available)
Links
- Source: http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00506428
- Information obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov on July 15, 2010
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Sleep Stages
Periods of sleep manifested by changes in EEG activity and certain behavioral correlates; includes Stage 1: sleep onset, drowsy sleep; Stage 2: light sleep; Stages 3 and 4: delta sleep, light sleep, deep sleep, telencephalic sleep.
Sleep Deprivation
The state of being deprived of sleep under experimental conditions, due to life events, or from a wide variety of pathophysiologic causes such as medication effect, chronic illness, psychiatric illness, or sleep disorder.
Sleep Apnea, Central
A condition associated with multiple episodes of sleep apnea which are distinguished from obstructive sleep apnea (SLEEP APNEA, OBSTRUCTIVE) by the complete cessation of efforts to breathe. This disorder is associated with dysfunction of central nervous system centers that regulate respiration. This condition may be idiopathic (primary) or associated with lower brain stem lesions; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (LUNG DISEASES, OBSTRUCTIVE); HEART FAILURE, CONGESTIVE; medication effect; and other conditions. Sleep maintenance is impaired, resulting in daytime hypersomnolence. Primary central sleep apnea is frequently associated with obstructive sleep apnea. When both forms are present the condition is referred to as mixed sleep apnea (see SLEEP APNEA SYNDROMES). (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p395; Neurol Clin 1996;14(3):611-28)
Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic
Dyssomnias (i.e., insomnias or hypersomnias) associated with dysfunction of internal sleep mechanisms or secondary to a sleep-related medical disorder (e.g., sleep apnea, post-traumatic sleep disorders, etc.). (From Thorpy, Sleep Disorders Medicine, 1994, p187)
Parasomnias
Movements or behaviors associated with sleep, sleep stages, or partial arousals from sleep that may impair sleep maintenance. Parasomnias are generally divided into four groups: arousal disorders, sleep-wake transition disorders, parasomnias of REM sleep, and nonspecific parasomnias. (From Thorpy, Sleep Disorders Medicine, 1994, p191)
Clinical Trials
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PubMed Articles
Age-related changes during a paradigm of chronic sleep restriction.
Fragmented and restricted sleep is a common problem for the human elderly. There is evidence that aging impairs sleep in animals as well. After sleep deprivation, older animals have less sleep rebound...
Sleep responses to chronic sleep restriction (CSR) might be very different from those observed after short-term total sleep deprivation. For example, after sleep restriction continues for several cons...
The present study attempted to evaluate the effects of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) associated with sleep restriction in hemodynamic parameters and the plasma renin-angiotensin system. Wistar-Ha...
Sleep homeostasis in the rat is preserved during chronic sleep restriction.
Sleep is homeostatically regulated in all animal species that have been carefully studied so far. The best characterized marker of sleep homeostasis is slow wave activity (SWA), the EEG power between...
Metabolic effects of chronic sleep restriction in rats.
Chronic partial sleep loss is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome in humans. We used rats with lesions in the ventrolateral preoptic area (VLPO), which spontaneously sleep about 30% less th...
