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Updated: Jun 3, 2025
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Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
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Relating Photoperiod and Outdoor Temperature With Sleep Architecture in Patients With Neuropsychiatric Sleep
Katy Sarah Weihrich1,2, Frederik Bes1,2, Jan de Zeeuw1,2
1Institute of Physiology, Sleep Research & Clinical Chronobiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Journal of Pineal Research
|January 8, 2025
Summary
Seasonal environmental factors influence sleep architecture in urban patients with neuropsychiatric disorders. Total sleep time and REM sleep vary with temperature, while slow wave sleep correlates with the autumnal equinox.
Area of Science:
- Sleep Medicine
- Chronobiology
- Neuropsychiatry
Background:
- Urban artificial light was thought to negate human seasonality.
- Recent evidence suggests environmental factors still impact sleep patterns.
- Neuropsychiatric disorders can affect sleep architecture.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between seasonal environmental factors and sleep architecture changes in patients with neuropsychiatric sleep disorders.
- To compare sleep patterns over two consecutive years in an urban setting.
Main Methods:
- Polysomnography (PSG) was conducted on 377 patients over two years.
- Sleep parameters were analyzed using 90-day moving averages and autocorrelations.
- Sleep data were correlated with photoperiod, temperature, and sunshine duration.
Main Results:
- Total sleep time (TST) and REM sleep showed a 5-month decline after freezing temperatures, with significant correlations between years (rs=0.87).
- Slow wave sleep (SWS) nadirs occurred near the autumnal equinox, also showing strong year-to-year correlation (rs=0.83).
- TST and REM sleep were longer in winter months (Nov-Feb) compared to summer (May-Aug), while SWS was longer in late winter/early spring (Feb-May).
Conclusions:
- Seasonal variations in sleep architecture persist in urban patients with neuropsychiatric sleep disorders.
- TST and REM sleep appear linked to ambient temperature, while SWS may relate to photoperiod.
- Findings highlight the enduring influence of natural environmental cues on sleep, even in urbanized populations.
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