BACKGROUND: In healthy aged subjects, subjective complaints of poor sleep are not as frequent as one would expect from the notable objective age-related sleep impairments. This discrepancy could depend on the sleep characteristics they require to feel satisfied about their sleep, which could be different from younger subjects. In order to verify this hypothesis, our study aims to identify changes in sleep satisfaction predictors as a function of age. METHODS: Sleep features, both quantitative (sleep latency, sleep duration, frequency and duration of night-time awakenings) and qualitative (calmness of sleep, ease of falling asleep, satisfaction with sleep, ease of awakening, freshness after awakening and sufficient sleep), as well as afternoon nap habits were investigated throughout a pre-arranged interview in healthy individuals: 117 elderly subjects (47 men, 70 women, 65-99 years) and 120 young adults (48 men, 72 women, 19-28 years). RESULTS: Quantitative sleep features worsen with age, whereas qualitative ones are equivalent or even improved in the aged group; only "calmness of sleep" decreases with age. Afternoon nap habits increase in elderly subjects, but they do not appear to be linked to sleep satisfaction. Predictors of sleep satisfaction differ between age groups: freshness after awakening but not frequency of night-time awakenings were relevant for elderly subjects, whereas the opposite was observed in young adults. CONCLUSIONS: These findings point out that sleep satisfaction is preserved in healthy elderly individuals despite the worsening of quantitative night-time sleep features, reflected by the increase of afternoon naps. This discrepancy could be explained by changes in sleep satisfaction determinants, towards which a spontaneous adaptive adjustment is likely to occur in aged subjects. In contrast with young adults, elderly subjects heed the freshness perceived after the awakening and pay little attention to frequent night-time awakenings.
BACKGROUND: In healthy aged subjects, subjective complaints of poor sleep are not as frequent as one would expect from the notable objective age-related sleep impairments. This discrepancy could depend on the sleep characteristics they require to feel satisfied about their sleep, which could be different from younger subjects. In order to verify this hypothesis, our study aims to identify changes in sleep satisfaction predictors as a function of age. METHODS: Sleep features, both quantitative (sleep latency, sleep duration, frequency and duration of night-time awakenings) and qualitative (calmness of sleep, ease of falling asleep, satisfaction with sleep, ease of awakening, freshness after awakening and sufficient sleep), as well as afternoon nap habits were investigated throughout a pre-arranged interview in healthy individuals: 117 elderly subjects (47 men, 70 women, 65-99 years) and 120 young adults (48 men, 72 women, 19-28 years). RESULTS: Quantitative sleep features worsen with age, whereas qualitative ones are equivalent or even improved in the aged group; only "calmness of sleep" decreases with age. Afternoon nap habits increase in elderly subjects, but they do not appear to be linked to sleep satisfaction. Predictors of sleep satisfaction differ between age groups: freshness after awakening but not frequency of night-time awakenings were relevant for elderly subjects, whereas the opposite was observed in young adults. CONCLUSIONS: These findings point out that sleep satisfaction is preserved in healthy elderly individuals despite the worsening of quantitative night-time sleep features, reflected by the increase of afternoon naps. This discrepancy could be explained by changes in sleep satisfaction determinants, towards which a spontaneous adaptive adjustment is likely to occur in aged subjects. In contrast with young adults, elderly subjects heed the freshness perceived after the awakening and pay little attention to frequent night-time awakenings.
Authors: Michael A Grandner; Jennifer L Martin; Nirav P Patel; Nicholas J Jackson; Philip R Gehrman; Grace Pien; Michael L Perlis; Dawei Xie; Daohang Sha; Terri Weaver; Nalaka S Gooneratne Journal: Sleep Date: 2012-03-01 Impact factor: 5.849
Authors: Jennifer Massa; Katie L Stone; Esther K Wei; Stephanie L Harrison; Elizabeth Barrett-Connor; Nancy E Lane; Misti Paudel; Susan Redline; Sonia Ancoli-Israel; Eric Orwoll; Eva Schernhammer Journal: Sleep Date: 2015-02-01 Impact factor: 5.849
Authors: Miranda V McPhillips; Victoria V Dickson; Pamela Z Cacchione; Junxin Li; Nalaka Gooneratne; Barbara Riegel Journal: Clin Nurs Res Date: 2019-05-18 Impact factor: 2.075
Authors: Katherine A Kaplan; Jason Hirshman; Beatriz Hernandez; Marcia L Stefanick; Andrew R Hoffman; Susan Redline; Sonia Ancoli-Israel; Katie Stone; Leah Friedman; Jamie M Zeitzer Journal: Biol Psychol Date: 2016-11-24 Impact factor: 3.251
Authors: Subhajit Chakravorty; Michael A Grandner; Henry R Kranzler; Shahrzad Mavandadi; Mitchel A Kling; Michael L Perlis; David W Oslin Journal: Am J Addict Date: 2013 May-Jun