Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 108, Issue -, Pages 15602-15608Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1010666108
Keywords
biological rhythm; gender; phase angle
Categories
Funding
- Respironics
- Actelion, Ltd.
- Bombardier, Inc.
- Boston Celtics
- Cephalon, Inc.
- Delta Airlines
- Eli Lilly and Co.
- Garda Siochana Inspectorate
- Global Ground Support
- Johnson Johnson
- Koninklijke Philips Electronics, NV
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Philips Respironics, Inc.
- Sanofi-Aventis, Inc.
- Sepracor, Inc.
- Sleep Multimedia, Inc.
- Somnus Therapeutics, Inc.
- Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Zeo, Inc.
- McGraw-Hill
- Massachusetts Medical Society/New England Journal of Medicine
- New York Times
- Penguin Press
- Philips Respironics
- Alliance for Epilepsy Research
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine
- Duke University School of Medicine
- Mount Sinai School of Medicine
- National Academy of Sciences
- North East Sleep Society
- Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology
- St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital
- University of Virginia Medical Center
- University of Washington Medical Center
- University of Wisconsin Medical School
- New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
- ResMed
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- George H. Kidder, Esq.
- Gerald McGinnis
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals
- Lilly USA
- Merck Co., Inc.
- Pfizer
- Praxair US Homecare
- Respironics, Inc.
- Select Comfort Corporation
- Sleep Health Centers, LLC
- Somaxon Pharmaceuticals
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals
- Tempur-Pedic
- Watermark Medical
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) [P01 AG09975, R01 HL080978, R01 HL52992, R21 AT02571, U01 AG12642, T32 HL07901, M01 RR02635, UL1 RR025758]
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NAS9-19435, NAG 5-3952]
- National Space Biomedical Research Institute [NCC9-58]
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research [F49620-94-1-0398, F49620-95-1-0388, F49620-00-1-0266]
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Harvard University and its affiliated academic health care centers
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The circadian rhythms of melatonin and body temperature are set to an earlier hour in women than in men, even when the women and men maintain nearly identical and consistent bedtimes and wake times. Moreover, women tend to wake up earlier than men and exhibit a greater preference for morning activities than men. Although the neurobiological mechanism underlying this sex difference in circadian alignment is unknown, multiple studies in nonhuman animals have demonstrated a sex difference in circadian period that could account for such a difference in circadian alignment between women and men. Whether a sex difference in intrinsic circadian period in humans underlies the difference in circadian alignment between men and women is unknown. We analyzed precise estimates of intrinsic circadian period collected from 157 individuals (52 women, 105 men; aged 18-74 y) studied in a month-long inpatient protocol designed to minimize confounding influences on circadian period estimation. Overall, the average intrinsic period of the melatonin and temperature rhythms in this population was very close to 24 h [24.15 +/- 0.2 h (24 h 9 min +/- 12 min)]. We further found that the intrinsic circadian period was significantly shorter in women [24.09 +/- 0.2 h (24 h 5 min +/- 12 min)] than in men [24.19 +/- 0.2 h (24 h 11 min +/- 12 min); P < 0.01] and that a significantly greater proportion of women have intrinsic circadian periods shorter than 24.0 h (35% vs. 14%; P < 0.01). The shorter average intrinsic circadian period observed in women may have implications for understanding sex differences in habitual sleep duration and insomnia prevalence.
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