Sleep Deprivation Disrupts Thermoregulation and Its Association with Vigilance

1673 Sleep Deprivation Disrupts Thermoregulation—Romeijn et al INTRODUCTION It has long been known that sleep and thermoregulation are closely related. This association has traditionally been studied mostly for the association of sleep or alertness with core body temperature.1,2 During the past decade, several studies have suggested this association to be at least in part secondary to an association of sleep and alertness with heat loss, the major determinant of core body temperature.3,4 A primary determinant of heat loss is skin blood flow. Increased perfusion warms the skin, facilitating convection of heat from the core of the body to the environment. In support of a contribution of skin temperature to the regulation of sleep and alertness, several studies have shown that sleep and sustained attention, also referred to as vigilance, are affected by both spontaneous fluctuations and induced changes in skin temperature.3,5-8 SLEEP DEPRIVATION DISRUPTS THERMOREGULATION AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH VIGILANCE