Alterations in sleep architecture in response to experimental sleep curtailment are associated with signs of positive energy balance

摘要

While the aforementioned studies demonstrate an association between sleep duration per se and markers of energy balance, none considered the role of specific sleep architecture changes in response to experimental sleep restriction. This is important since sleep is not a uniform process, and the amount and presence of specific sleep stages throughout the night is not constant. Sleep is regulated by an interaction between homeo-static and circadian mechanisms (3). Accordingly, in response to the build-up of homeostatic sleep pressure during the waking episode, the expression of slow wave sleep (SWS) is highest at the start of the sleep episode, whereas rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, under a circadian drive, shows maximal propensity during the early morning hours (5). Thus, under conditions of experimental and/or real-life sleep restriction, the amount of REM sleep may be disproportionately reduced compared with SWS, which is expected to be conserved.