As men enter middle age, they may find themselves lying awake at night worrying about family, work, money or any number of concerns. Now a team of researchers reports that these stressors may not be directly to blame. This hormone plays a role in how the body responds to stress, with higher levels associated with arousal. Their findings are published in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. In an interview with Reuters Health, Vgontzas suggested that middle-aged men who are under stress try to exercise, use relaxation techniques or do yoga.
Chronic insomnia is a difficult problem to treat.
The researchers monitored the sleep patterns of 12 middle-aged men and 12 young men over 4 nights. On one night they administered CRH 10 minutes after the men had fallen asleep. Previous studies have found that people who spend less time in slow-wave sleep may also be more prone to depression. The current findings may help to explain why major depression is associated with insomnia in middle age, but often with sleepiness in younger people, the researchers add. The report may also shed light on why older people seem to be more affected by caffeine, while young people can enjoy a double espresso before heading off to a good night's sleep.