The Effects of Pre-Sleep Learning on Sleep Continuity, Stability, and Organization in Elderly Individuals
نویسندگان
چکیده
Several studies have consistently shown that pre-sleep learning is associated to changes of sleep structure. Whereas previous research has mainly focused on sleep states, namely REM and NREM amount, very little attention has been paid to the hypothesis that pre-sleep learning might improve sleep continuity, stability, and cyclic organization, which are often impaired in aging. Thus, aim of this research was to assess, in a sample of 18 healthy elderly subjects, whether a memory task administered at bedtime would determine changes in any sleep parameter, with special regard to sleep continuity, stability, and organization. To this purpose, a baseline sleep (BL), i.e., a normal sleep with 9-h time in bed (TIB), was compared to a post-training sleep (TR), with the same TIB but preceded by an intensive training session. For the latter, a verbal declarative task was used, consisting in learning paired-word lists, rehearsed, and recalled for three times in a row. To control for individual learning abilities, subjects were administered several sets of lists with increasing difficulty, until they reached an error rate ≥20% at third recall. Relative to BL, TR shows a significant reduction in the frequency of brief awakenings, arousals, state transitions, "functional uncertainty" (FU) periods, and in the percentage of time in FU over total sleep time (TST). A significant increase in the number of complete cycles, total cycle time (TCT), and TCT/TST proportion was also found. All these changes are evenly distributed over the sleep episode. No sleep stage measure display significant changes, apart from a slight reduction in the percentage of Stage 1. Scores at retest are negatively correlated with both the frequency of arousals and of state transitions. Our data suggest that pre-sleep learning can yield a beneficial re-organizing effect on elderlies' sleep quality. The inverse correlation between recall scores and the measures of sleep continuity and stability provides further support to the role of these features in memory processes.
منابع مشابه
The Effect of Continuous Care Model on the Sleep Quality of the Elderly
Background: Aging is accompanied by the mitigation of sleep quality in the elderly, thereby affecting their physical and social dimensions and quality of life. However, studies have not addressed sleep problems in the elderly by means of a holistic approach, such as continuous care model (CCM). Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of CC...
متن کاملThe Effect of Tai Chi Chuan Exercises on Happiness, Sleep Quality and Blood Pressure of Elderly Women
Introduction: In recently years the elderly population has great grown and aging is one of the sensitive periods in life which the health of individuals in that is reduced. Also, sport exercises have an important role in the prevention and management of diseases of this period. For this purpose, the aim of this study was determine the effect of Tai Chi Chuan exercises on happiness, sleep quali...
متن کاملSpatial Learning Paradigm Can Increase Post-Stress Total Time of REM Sleep in Immobilized Rats
Background & Objective: Stress contributes to sleep-wake behavior in all animals. It seems that factors such as learning and memory processes can improve sleep disorders. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effects of stress and learning (spatial memory) on total post-stress rapid-eye-movement (REM), non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) and waking time in rats. Materials & Met...
متن کاملThe Effect of Sleep Health Education Program by Telephone Follow-Up on the Sleep Quality Among the Elderly
Objectives: Low quality sleep is one of the most common problems during the elderly. The present study aimed at determination of effect of sleep health education program by telephone follow-up on the sleep quality among the elderly. Methods & Materials: This semi-experimental study was performed on 80 elderly people aged 74-60 years who had the criteria to enter the study. The data collection ...
متن کاملEffects of Reflexology on Sleep Quality of Elderly Women Undergoing Abdominal Surgery
Background: Sleep disorder is one of most prevalent complaints in elderly people. Tension reduction can be effective in improving sleep quality. In this regard, reflexology can be effective in reducing anxiety and tension. This study aimed to determine reflexology effects on sleep disorders of elderly women undergoing abdominal surgery. Methods: This study was a non-randomized c...
متن کامل