It appears that disrupted rest and activity rhythms are associated with increased mortality rates among older men, according to new University of Minnesota research.
A group of about 3,000 men older than 67, were tested for rest and activity biological rhythms via a wrist device called an actigraph. The device tracked participants' movement, including the peak times of rest and activity, as well as the robustness of the activity for 24 hours a day for an average of about a week between Dec. 2003 and March 2005. As of January 2008, there were 180 deaths in the group, and men who had peak activity times that were the earliest or latest, in comparison with the groups' average, had a much greater risk of death.
"It's important to have a regular routine of waking and going to sleep," said Misti Paudel, M.P.H., principal investigator of the study and a member of the School of Public Health. "Waking early, staying up late, and severely disturbed sleep patterns may have a detrimental impact on health in older men, especially since this group was generally in good health. A good night sleep is important."
This is the first study to report strong associations between disturbed rest and activity rhythms and mortality rates in older men, who are still living in their homes (not institutionalized) - however, studies in cancer patients as well as institutionalized Alzheimer's patients have reported similar findings.
Paudel will be presenting information from the study during the Associated Professional Sleep Societies Conference today in Baltimore, MD.