Stride-to-Stride Fluctuations of Human Gait Are Affected By Chronobiology: An Exploratory Study

Physiological processes present daily oscillations of approximate to 24 h, called circadian rhythms. Motor performance, for example, reaches its peak in the afternoon, although this can be affected by chronotype. Certain motor activities, for example, walking, can also be affected by circadian rhythms. Healthy walking exhibits stride-to-stride fluctuations with a fractal-like structure that enables adaptability. While pathology and aging are shown to lead to random-like fluctuations; and, therefore, decreased adaptability; the influence of circadian rhythms remains unknown. This study investigates how these fluctuations present in healthy gait are affected by the time of day and chronotype. Eighteen young adults walk for 10 min every 2 h, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Footswitches are used to determine heel-strike and calculate stride time. Then, detrended fluctuation analysis is used to calculate fractal scaling. A mixed-model Analysis of Variance is used and followed by a backward stepwise elimination process. Tukey's tests are used for pairwise comparisons. The statistical model shows the effect of time during the day (12 p.m. exhibits a higher fractal scaling compared to 8 a.m.); and chronotype (evening-types exhibit higher fractal scaling compared to morning-types). This study reveals the influence of chronobiology on stride-to-stride fluctuations. These findings open new perspectives to integrate circadian medicine in biomechanics.

Automated summary

Physiological processes exhibit circadian rhythms with approximately 24-hour oscillations. Motor performance and walking can be affected by these rhythms. This study explores how the fluctuations in healthy gait, which have a fractal-like structure, are influenced by the time of day and chronotype.