Adolescent sleep and the circadian pacemaker

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Applied Mathematics and Statistics

Grantor dc:publisher

Colorado School of Mines. Arthur Lakes Library

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Stack, Nora

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Diniz Behn, Cecilia

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Pankavich, Stephen
• Leiderman, Karin

• circadian pacemaker
• phase delay
• mathematical model
• adolescent sleep

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright of the original work is retained by the author.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Identifier

T 8204

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.mines.edu:11124/170654