Do older man get enough sleep - Ext

Researchers at the University of Chicago found what appears to be a link between middle-age spread and men's sleep patterns as they get older. They found that the quality of men's sleep decreases with age along with the body's production of growth hormone. The drop in growth hormone, in turn, is thought to lead to flab. The study, published in a recent issue of the journal of the American Medical Association, found that increasing deep sleep can increase growth hormone production. Researchers also found that by the time men reach age 45, they have nearly lost the ability to fall into deep sleep. Men produce growth hormone primarily during deep sleep. In studies of the elderly, growth hormone deficiency has been connected to obesity and the loss of muscle mass. The study of beauty sleep was limited to healthy men, and it is not clear whether the findings apply to women. The research could be used to examine whether growth hormone injections could slow signs of aging in men during early mid-life. Currently, such therapy is used mostly for men 65 or older.