Relationship of Endogenous Circadian Melatonin and Temperature Rhythms to Self-Reported Preference for Morning or Evening Activity in Young and Older People

作者：Jeanne F. Duffy, Derk‐Jan Dijk, Edward F. Hall, Charles Andrew Czeisler · 发表于：Journal of Investigative Medicine · 年份：1999 · DOI：10.1177/108155899904700310 · 被引用次数：438 · 研究领域：Sleep and related disorders、Circadian rhythm and melatonin、Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue

BACKGROUND: Morningness-eveningness refers to interindividual differences in preferred timing of behavior (i.e., bed and wake times). Older people have earlier wake times and rate themselves as more morning-like than young adults. It has been reported that the phase of circadian rhythms is earlier in morning-types than in evening types, and that older people have earlier phases than young adults. These changes in phase have been considered to be the chronobiological basis of differences in preferred bed and wake times and age-related changes therein. Whether such differences in phase are associated with changes in the phase relationship between endogenous circadian rhythms and the sleep-wake cycle has not been investigated previously. METHODS: We investigated the association between circadian phase, the phase relationship between the sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythms, and morningness-eveningness, and their interaction with aging. In this circadian rhythm study, 68 young and 40 older subjects participated. RESULTS: Among the young subjects, the phase of the melatonin and core temperature rhythms occurred earlier in morning than in evening types and the interval between circadian phase and usual wake time was longer in morning types. Thus, while evening types woke at a later clock hour than morning types, morning types actually woke at a later circadian phase. Comparing young and older morning types we found that older morning types had an earlier circadian phase and a sho...