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Effects of Acutely Displaced Sleep on Testosterone

National Institute for Psychosocial Medicine (J.A., M.I., T.Å.) and Karolinska Institute (J.A., T.Å.), 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; and Department of Medical Sciences, Nutrition (U.H.), Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. John Axelsson, National Institute for Psychosocial Medicine and Karolinska Institute, Box 230, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: john.axelsson{at}ipm.ki.se.

Context: It is not yet clear whether the diurnal variation in testosterone is regulated by circadian or homeostatic (sleep) influences.

Objective: The present study tested whether testosterone is driven by a circadian-independent sleep effect by shifting sleep acutely to daytime in a 24-h sampling regiment.

Design, Setting, and Participants: In the sleep laboratory, seven healthy young men (age, 22–32 yr) participated in three conditions: habituation (sleep between 2300–0700 h), night sleep (2300–0700 h), and day sleep (0700–1500 h), the latter two in a balanced order.

Intervention and Main Outcome Measure: Serum testosterone was, in all conditions, sampled by hourly blood drawing for 24 h during constant bed rest.

Results: Mean testosterone levels increased as a log-linear function of time (hours) across both sleep periods (b = 4.88; P < 0.001), from 15.3 ± 2.1 to 25.3 ± 2.2 nmol/liter during night sleep and from 17.3 ± 2.1 to 26.4 ± 2.9 nmol/liter during day sleep. Similarly, mean testosterone levels decreased with time (log-linear) awake (b = –1.80; P < 0.001). There was also evidence of a weak circadian component (acrophase ranging between 0651–0924 h) and an increase with time in the laboratory. Moreover, all these effects, except for the increase during sleep, differed significantly between individuals.

Conclusion: In conclusion, testosterone increased during sleep and fell during waking, whereas circadian effects seemed marginal. Individual differences were pronounced.

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