Advance in Sleep and Circadian Rhythms

Dear Colleagues,

Sleep is a pleasing state regulated by circadian and homeostatic mechanisms, and characterized by quiescence, rapid reversibility, specific sleeping sites and body positions, and raised sensory thresholds. Sleep-associated problems can be classified into two main categories: theoretical and sanitary.

In theoretical terms, we ignore how sleep evolved in the animal kingdom as well as many aspects of the circadian regulation of sleep. Likewise, we ignore the brain structures responsible of the homeostatic regulation and, perhaps the most important question we ignore is why we sleep.

Sleep disturbances, which have been referred to as the silent epidemic, constitute a serious health problem. One in six adults in the US were diagnosed with a sleep disorder and one in eight use sleeping aids. Additionally, one in every three fatal traffic accidents is caused by tiredness or drowsiness and three out of every four drivers admit to having driven while drowsy. Sleep involves immense direct and indirect economic costs in the form of lost working time, depression and highly prevalent associated health problems such as neurodegenerative disorders. Sleep and circadian dysregulation could help to identify the risk of suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.

We propose that sleep researchers interested in the theoretical and medical aspects of sleep will be interested in participating in an updated theoretical Special Issue on this subject, including circadian and homeostatic factors as well as the medical and pharmacological aspects of sleep.

Prof. Dr. Cristina Nicolau
Guest Editor

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