Nycthemeral patterns of thyroid hormones and their relationships with thyrotropin variations and sleep structure

In order to precise the relationships between TSH, FT3, and FT4 nycthemeral variations and the relationships between thyroid hormone variations and sleep, 8 healthy young males were studied twice, once during a 24-h experiment with normal nocturnal sleep, and once during a night of sleep deprivation. The subjects received continuous enteral nutrition and remained supine during the whole experiment. Blood was sampled every 10 min for TSH, FT3, and FT4 measurements. Thyroid hormones exhibited small oscillations which were not systematically related to TSH pulses, and there was no evidence of a nycthemeral rhythm. SWS was associated with TSH declining phases, whereas awakenings were strongly associated with ascending phases of TSH variations. There was no association between sleep structure or awakenings and thyroid hormones. Sleep deprivation led to increased TSH and FT3 levels, without any variation in FT4 levels. These results demonstrate that short-term thyroid hormone variations do not only depend on the effect of TSH on thyroid secretion but also on a possible role of TSH on peripheral FT4 to FT3 conversion. Conversely, the relationships between TSH and SWS or awakenings are not mediated by thyroid hormones.