Abstract:
Although sleep has been shown to enhance motor skill
learning, it remains unclear whether sleep enhances learning of a functional
motor task in middle-aged and older individuals. The purpose of this study was to
examine whether sleep enhances motor learning of a functional motor task in
middle-aged and older adults. METHODS: Twenty middle-aged and 20 older
individuals were randomly assigned to either the sleep condition or the no-sleep
condition. Participants in the sleep condition practiced a novel walking task in
the evening, and returned the following morning for retesting. Participants in
the no-sleep condition practiced the walking task in the morning and returned the
same day in the evening for a retest. Outcome measures included time around the
walking path and spatiotemporal gait parameters. RESULTS: Only the middle-aged
and older adults in the sleep condition demonstrated significant off-line
improvement in performance, measured as a decline in time to walk around the
novel path and improvement in spatiotemporal gait parameters. The middle-aged and
older adults in the no-sleep condition failed to demonstrate off-line
improvements in performance of this functional task. CONCLUSIONS: This is the
first study to provide evidence that sleep facilitates learning a clinically
relevant functional motor task in middle-aged and older adults. Because many
neurologic conditions occur in the middle-aged and older adults and sleep issues
are very prevalent in many neurologic conditions, it is imperative that physical
therapists consider sleep as a factor that may impact motor learning and recovery
in these individuals.