Zepelin H, McDonald C S
J Gerontol. 1987 Mar;42(2):142-6. doi: 10.1093/geronj/42.2.142.
Relationships of autonomic variables and sleep were assessed in men and women at two age levels (18 to 23 and 57 to 71 years) to check for alleged associations between physiological arousal and age-related sleep disturbance. Heart rate, although relatively high at the upper age level, was unrelated to sleep measures. For the most part, underarousal rather than hyperarousal characterized older sleepers. Women's body temperature declined significantly with age. Vasoconstrictions, which were more frequent in young adults, showed some association with better sleep. The earlier the overnight temperature nadir, the more wakefulness after sleep onset. Together with other studies, this suggests that an age-related phase advance in the temperature rhythm disrupts sleep. These results are at odds with the view that sympathetic hyperactivity associated with elevated plasma norepinephrine causes age-related sleep disturbance.
在两个年龄组（18至23岁和57至71岁）的男性和女性中评估自主神经变量与睡眠的关系，以检验生理唤醒与年龄相关的睡眠障碍之间所谓的关联。心率虽然在较高年龄组相对较高，但与睡眠指标无关。在很大程度上，老年睡眠者的特征是唤醒不足而非过度唤醒。女性的体温随年龄显著下降。血管收缩在年轻人中更频繁，与较好的睡眠有一定关联。夜间体温最低点出现得越早，睡眠开始后的清醒时间就越长。与其他研究一起，这表明温度节律中与年龄相关的相位提前会扰乱睡眠。这些结果与认为与血浆去甲肾上腺素升高相关的交感神经过度活跃会导致年龄相关睡眠障碍的观点不一致。
