Cortisol dynamics and sleep–wake switching: a modeling study

Normally, the sleep–wake cycle is synchronized with the body’s circadian rhythm, which in turn is synchronized with the 24-h period of sunlight. Circadian changes in key hormones, particularly cortisol, also tend to follow the body’s circadian rhythm, masking their involvement in controlling the tra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European physical journal. ST, Special topics Special topics, 2024, Vol.233 (3), p.579-588
Main Authors: Litvinenko, Elena, Merkulova, Ksenia, Postnov, Dmitry
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic
Circadian rhythm
Circadian rhythms
Classical and Continuum Physics
Condensed Matter Physics
Hormones
Materials Science
Measurement Science and Instrumentation
Molecular
Neuro-Sleep as a Complex System
Optical and Plasma Physics
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Regular Article
Sleep
Subsystems
Switching
Wakefulness
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Summary:Normally, the sleep–wake cycle is synchronized with the body’s circadian rhythm, which in turn is synchronized with the 24-h period of sunlight. Circadian changes in key hormones, particularly cortisol, also tend to follow the body’s circadian rhythm, masking their involvement in controlling the transition between sleep and wakefulness. In our work, we study the behavior of an extended mathematical model that describes the dynamics of both switching between sleep and wakefulness and the process of cortisol production, including their mutual influence. The main goal of our work is to evaluate the behavior of such an extended model in the light of the phenomenon of spontaneous internal desynchronization (SID). Our results indicate that the influence of the cortisol subsystem on the switch between sleep and wakefulness depends significantly on the strength of this feedback. In particular, the increased contribution of cortisol leads to desynchronization between the sleep–wake cycle and the circadian rhythm. With random deviations in the speed of the homeostatic process, the action of cortisol, on the one hand, increases the predictability of the behavior of physiological markers of the sleep–wake cycle, and on the other hand, can lead to the appearance of “excesses of activity”—days with early awakening and late falling asleep.
ISSN:1951-6355
1951-6401
DOI:10.1140/epjs/s11734-024-01142-1