Dynamics of sleep homeostasis
The 鈥渉omeostatic sleep drive鈥� describes sleep need that increases during wake and decreases during sleep. Using a physiologically-based mathematical model of sleep-wake regulatory neurophysiology, we simulate sleep-wake behavior under conditions representing individuals with different sleep needs. Combining this model with experimental data, we demonstrate that 1) changes in the sensitivity to homeostatic sleep pressure predict differences in the sleep of adults with long and short typical sleep durations and their responses to sleep deprivation; and 2) changes in the dynamics of homeostatic sleep pressure predict the consolidation of sleep that occurs in most children between 2- and 5-years old and the interindividual differences associated with this transition. We analyze the dynamics of the homeostatic sleep drive and its effects on sleep patterning with mathematical tools including 1-dimensional circle maps and bifurcation analysis. This framework can be used to predict effective therapeutic interventions for individuals experiencing challenges related to the patterns, duration, and/or timing of sleep.
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