An inability to be sensitive to changes in skin temperature may lead to poorer sleep among older adults, it has been claimed.
In news that may be of interest to anti-aging physicians, the project – published in the journal Sleep – showed that such an ability decreases with age, particularly among those suffering from insomnia.
Scientists manipulated the body temperature, proximal skin temperature and distal skin temperature of subjects aged around 65 and found that people with insomnia did not note any discomfort, compared with those without the sleep condition who did, Eurekalert notes.
It was also revealed that warming the skin or cooling the body’s core temperature may both aid in implementing sleep.
Principal investigator Roy Raymann said: "We were positively surprised by the fact that although elderly insomniacs have troubles detecting small changes in skin temperature, the small changes are still effective in promoting sleep onset."
In related news, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston College have revealed that sleep selectively preserves emotional memories.
