Physiological effects of chronic sleep restriction

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Sleep problems and disorders afflict over half of the adult population in the Western world, including Canada, with huge costs for individuals and society as a whole. Inadequate sleep has been linked to a wide variety of adverse consequences to health and quality of life. Despite this, research has thus far failed to provide a definitive answer to some very basic and important questions, including "how much sleep do we need?", "can we adapt to less sleep?", "what are the physiological mechanisms mediating the consequences of chronic sleep debt?" The proposed research is intended to work toward an answer to these questions.Most individuals that suffer from sleep problems experience ongoing fragmentation and/or insufficiency of sleep (chronic sleep restriction) rather than total sleep deprivation. Published research indicates that chronic sleep restriction has significant effects on human neurobehavioural performance and mental health. However, little attention has yet been given to the physiological consequences of chronic sleep restriction, in humans or animals, despite the known link between sleep problems and physical health (e.g. cardiovascular disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and suppressed immune responses). Hence, the main goal of the proposed research program is to investigate homeostatic physiological mechanisms in a rat model of chronic sleep restriction.Research in my laboratory has led to the development of techniques that are needed to achieve this goal. These techniques are designed to investigate short-term and long-term effects of daily sleep restriction on the regulation of behavioural state and physiological homeostasis in the rat. Specifically, extending previous research in this laboratory, we will focus our attention on two interdependent physiological systems; thermoregulation/energy metabolism, and the respiratory system. By studying these basic mechanisms we hope to gain insight into the way in which sleep debt may mediate or exacerbate ill health.