Chronobiology international
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Increased stress responsivity and a longer-lasting glucocorticoid increase are common findings in aging studies. Increased cortisol levels at the circadian nadir also accompany aging. We used 24 h free urine cortisol to assess these age changes in healthy seniors. We hypothesized that free cortisol levels would explain individual differences in age-related sleep impairments. ⋯ These results indicate that free cortisol (as indexed by 24 h urine values) can index responses to mild stress in healthy senior adults, revealing functional correlations (impaired sleep, earlier times of arising, more EEG beta activity during sleep, more IL-1beta) and gender differences.