Deglutition and respiratory patterns during sleep in younger adults

Conclusion: Deglutition was infrequent and displayed unique patterns during sleep in healthy younger adults. Objectives: The deglutition, electroencephalographic arousal, and respiratory phase patterns during sleep in younger adults were investigated. Methods: Ten younger adults were examined via time-matched recordings of polysomnography and surface electromyography. Results: During sleep, swallowing was infrequent and absent for long periods. The mean number of swallows per hour during the total sleep time was 2.4 +/- 1.0. The mean longest deglutition-free period was 68.8 +/- 24.8 min. Most deglutition occurred in association with spontaneous electroencephalographic arousal. Deglutition was related to the sleep stage. The mean number of swallows per hour was 11.2 +/- 8.1 during stage 1 sleep, 1.9 +/- 1.0 during stage 2 sleep, 0.5 +/- 1.5 during stage 3 sleep, and 0.2 +/- 0.5 during stage 4 sleep. The deeper the sleep stage, the lower the mean deglutition frequency. The mean number of swallows per hour was 1.9 +/- 1.7 during rapid eye movement sleep. The deeper the sleep stage, the lower the mean arousal frequency and the lower the mean ratio of arousal with deglutition to arousal. Approximately 60% of swallows were followed by arrested breathing and approximately 25% by expiration.