Abstract

The human sleep–wake cycle is usually tightly coupled to the circadian time course of core body temperature. The circadian regulation of heat loss in the evening, via distal skin regions, is intimately associated with sleepiness and the ease to fall asleep. The rise in distal heat loss and reduction in heat production during lying down and relaxing behavior are thermoregulatory effects before sleep stage 2 starts. Perhaps they represent a part of the role of sleep behavior as a mechanism for energy conservation and may be a remnant of man's evolutionary past. After sleep initiation, nonrapid eye movement sleep to rapid eye movement sleep cycle fluctuations seem to have minor thermoregulatory functions, especially in humans. Anatomical and neurophysiological studies show that the preoptic anterior hypothalamus is the main integrator of sleep and thermoregulatory information. It integrates information on vigilance states, body temperature, and environmental temperature and influences vigilance states and body temperature in response. From experimental data obtained in humans and rodents, it can be concluded that warming can increase sleep propensity, sleep consolidation, and the duration of slow-wave sleep. In contrast, the effects of cooling on sleep are not yet sufficiently studied.

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