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Non-rapid-eye-movement sleep propensity after sleep deprivation in human subjects
Hirokuni Tagaya1, Makoto Uchiyama, Kayo Shibui
1Department of Psychophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 1-7-3 Kohnodai, Ichikawa, 272-0827, Chiba, Japan. hirokuni.tagaya@nifty.ne.jp
Abstract:
The circadian modulation of occurrence of non-rapid-eye-movement sleep (NREM) was investigated in 37 volunteers under dim-light conditions after 24-h total sleep deprivation using a 26-h 10/20-min ultra-short sleep-wake schedule. The propensity of NREM showed rapid increase followed by gradual decrease during the subjective day and nocturnal bouts during the subjective night coinciding with melatonin production. The mean propensity of NREM during the subjective day was smaller than that during the subjective night, even though the sleep debt due to the 24-h sleep deprivation would have enhanced NREM more strongly during the subjective day than that during the subjective night. These results suggest that the occurrence of NREM sleep is modulated by a circadian pacemaker.