Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, reports that their research shows a link between advancing age and increased sleep disturbances.
An analysis of participant lab results showed only 5% of the under 50 subjects having an respiratory disturbance index (RDI) level of 15 events per hour, while over 50% of the over 65 subjects had an RDI level of 15 or higher.
The subjects participating in the study had no physical signs or symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, leaving authors to attribute the high frequency of raised RDI with the normal aging process.
The study was recently published in the journal SLEEP.
