Adolescent sleep and the circadian pacemaker

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical time of social, physical, and mental development. Adolescents often exhibit a circadian phase delay in which they tend to go to bed later and wake up later compared to adults. This thesis seeks to understand the adolescent phase delay and its relationship to the circadian pacemaker, the body’s master clock. Using a dynamic circadian pacemaker model, we identify parameters that affect features of the circadian system that may contribute to the phase delay. Specifically, we focus on the effect of light on the phase and amplitude of the circadian pacemaker as model parameters are varied. We compare simulation results with data characterizing the adolescent clock under different weekend sleep protocols. This work has implications for understanding the mechanisms associated with the adolescent phase delay and may inform efforts to create schedules for adolescents that mitigate sleep loss and the resulting impacts on physical and cognitive performance.