Organic Changes in the Brain, Sleep Loss, and Sleep Modulation With Aging: A Review

Abstract

The sleep loss (SL) are one of the important diseases that endanger the health of aging individuals. This study evaluated SL in aging individuals, and explored the relationship between age and the organic changes that affect brain and sleep. The causes of SL in aging individuals and its harmful effects on them have been outlined. To enable individuals in choosing a suitable way to sleep better, we also reviewed advantages and disadvantages of the existing sleep modulation based on lifestyle habits and drug and physical stimulation. We found the former as more suitable for patients with mild SL, while the latter may fail to achieve the desired effects and may even lead to the onset of new diseases. Therefore, it is proposed to use non-invasive electrical and magnetic stimulations to improve the sleep quality in aging patients.In this review, mechanisms of the two stimulation methods have been summarized. Through analysis, it was found that magnetic stimulation can induce neuronal action potential, which makes patients twitch, and equipment noise causes discomfort in the elderly during treatment. Comparative analysis of stimulation methods revealed that transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) is a considerably safe, convenient, non-invasive, and easy to operate method with few adverse reactions, and it can be considered a potential therapeutic method for SL in aging patients.