Beersma Domien G M, Gordijn Marijke C M
Department of Chronobiology, University of Groningen, PO Box 14, 9750 AA, Haren, The Netherlands.
Physiol Behav. 2007 Feb 28;90(2-3):190-5. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.09.010. Epub 2006 Oct 18.
It is beyond doubt that the timing of sleep is under control of the circadian pacemaker. Humans are a diurnal species; they sleep mostly at night, and they do so at approximately 24-h intervals. If they do not adhere to this general pattern, for instance when working night shifts or when travelling across time zones, they experience the stubborn influence of their circadian clock. In recent years much has been discovered about the organisation of the circadian clock. New photoreceptor cells in the retina have been found to influence the input to the clock, and much of the molecular machinery of the clock has been unravelled. It is now known that the circadian rhythm of sleep and wakefulness is only loosely coupled to the circadian rhythm of the pacemaker. New theories have been proposed for the functions of sleep and the sites at which those functions are executed. In spite of this rapid increase in knowledge of the circadian clock and of sleep regulatory processes, much remains to be discovered concerning the precise interaction between the biological clock and sleep timing. This is particularly unfortunate in view of the 24-h demands of our society for 7 days a week. Too little is known about the negative consequences of the societal pressures on well-being and performance.
毫无疑问，睡眠的时间受昼夜节律起搏器的控制。人类是昼行性物种；他们大多在夜间睡眠，且以大约24小时的间隔进行。如果他们不遵循这种一般模式，例如上夜班或跨时区旅行时，就会感受到昼夜节律时钟的顽固影响。近年来，人们对昼夜节律时钟的组织有了很多发现。视网膜中的新光感受器细胞已被发现会影响时钟的输入，并且时钟的许多分子机制也已被揭示。现在已知睡眠和清醒的昼夜节律与起搏器的昼夜节律只是松散耦合。关于睡眠的功能以及执行这些功能的部位，已经提出了新的理论。尽管在昼夜节律时钟和睡眠调节过程的知识方面迅速增加，但关于生物钟与睡眠时间之间的精确相互作用仍有许多有待发现。鉴于我们的社会一周七天都有24小时的需求，这尤其令人遗憾。对于社会压力对幸福感和工作表现的负面影响知之甚少。
