Abstract
Mammals have evolved a range of behavioural and neurological mechanisms that coordinate cycles of thermoregulation and sleep. Whether diurnal or nocturnal, sleep onset and a reduction in core temperature occur together. Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep episodes are also accompanied by core and brain cooling. Thermoregulatory behaviours, like nest building and curling up, accompany this circadian temperature decline in preparation for sleeping. This could be a matter of simply comfort as animals seek warmth to compensate for lower temperatures. However, in both humans and other mammals, direct skin warming can shorten sleep-latency and promote NREM sleep. We discuss the evidence that body cooling and sleep are more fundamentally connected and that thermoregulatory behaviours, prior to sleep, form warm microclimates that accelerate NREM directly through neuronal circuits. Paradoxically, this warmth might also induce vasodilation and body cooling. In this way, warmth seeking and nesting behaviour might enhance the circadian cycle by activating specific circuits that link NREM initiation to body cooling. We suggest that these circuits explain why NREM onset is most likely when core temperature is at its steepest rate of decline and why transitions to NREM are accompanied by a decrease in brain temperature. This connection may have implications for energy homeostasis and the function of sleep.
Introduction
In all mammals, sleep appears to be indispensable and coincides with a conserved circadian temperature rhythm. When our core and brain temperatures are in rapid decline we are most likely to choose to sleep, and if we dissociate from this cycle of body cooling we experience insomnia (; ; Lack et al., 2008). Here, we review the evidence that thermoregulatory mechanisms are fundamental to sleep and consider the neuronal circuits that connect these two physiologies. These circuits use the presence of warm microclimates to gate sleep and may enhance circadian body cooling as our first non-rapid eye movement (NREM) bout approaches. The same neurons directly link NREM initiation to body cooling and may explain why transitions from wakefulness to NREM sleep, across the sleep cycle, are immediately followed by a decrease in brain temperature, whilst transitions back to REM or WAKE are accompanied by rewarming (; Landolt et al., 1995). The partitioning of brain cooling during NREM sleep and the coordination of the circadian core temperature rhythm are important for effective sleep.
This may have particular consequences for energy homeostasis and could open a window on sleep function.
Preparation for Sleep is a Thermoregulatory Behaviour
Mammals have a range of thermoregulatory behaviours that allow adaptation to environmental temperature fluctuations throughout the day, but these are most visible in the preparations for sleep (Peever, 2018). These behaviours include warmth and shelter seeking, nest building, curling up and huddling (see Figure 1A). Mice that are inactive or sleeping are much more likely to do so in contact with nesting material (). As small rodents they demonstrate surprisingly sophisticated thermal adaptations. As environmental temperature decreases, nest quality rises to compensate and results in measurable improvements in insulation (). When they can, mice engage in huddling with group members (, ; ). They also have a clear thermal preference during the sleep phase (lights on), choosing warmer environments approaching thermoneutrality (27–30°C) and minimising energy expenditure (; ). These behaviours align the circadian temperature decline with the light and dark cycle and sleep onset. An example of the circadian core temperature cycle over several days can be seen in Figure 1B. The decline in core temperature intersects the light–dark cycle and changes over a range of about 2°C at the transition from the active phase of the mice (lights off) to the sleep phase (lights on) (Figure 1C,D).
FIGURE 1
Ambient temperature is a critical determinant of energy expenditure, and failure to carry out thermal defence behaviours has consequences for energy homeostasis (Yu et al., 2018). Fur removal in Siberian hamsters, for example, increases food consumption by almost a quarter; whereas, in cold conditions, group huddling or the provision of nesting material can reduce food consumption by 15–20%, respectively (
Thermoregulatory behaviour prior to sleeping is a core part of maintaining energy balance, at least in smaller mammals, where the consequence of thermal inefficiency is an increased need for food. In larger mammals, however, the drive towards thermal preparation for sleep is no weaker. Chimpanzees and other primates select their arboreal sleeping sites (Figure 1A), at least partly, on thermal characteristics, and during colder weather even adjust their nest sites to be more insulating (Koops et al., 2012; Samson and Hunt, 2012; Stewart et al., 2018). In addition, humans actively regulate temperature during sleep by unconsciously increasing their exposed surface area as ambient temperatures rise. In optimal room temperatures, approximately 19–21°C, we attempt to establish skin microclimates between 31 and 35°C and deviation from this range has a negative influence on sleep (Figure 2A) (Muzet et al., 1984; Okamoto-Mizuno et al., 2003; Raymann et al., 2005). A key factor in using microclimates is that, at least in humans, it cannot be replaced by ambient warming at the same temperature, perhaps because it disrupts the self-adjustment required over the course of the night (Muzet et al., 1984; Raymann et al., 2008).
FIGURE 2

Thermoregulation is important for human sleep. (A) Humans use bedding to form warm microclimates during sleep. These activate central hypothalamic mechanisms to induce sleep and peripheral vasodilation. (B) Distal-to-proximal gradient and core temperature decline predict sleep onset (adapted from Krauchi et al., 2000).
In summary, thermoregulatory behaviours prior to sleep are conserved across mammalian species suggesting they are not just a matter of comfort and may have a more functional role in sleep initiation and maintenance.
The “Warm Bath Effect”
In humans, immersion in hot water prior to, but not immediately before, the sleep period decreases sleep latency and increases sleep depth. This is the known as the ‘Warm Bath Effect’ (
Optimal ambient temperatures, in combination with bedding, appear to be crucial for efficient sleep onset in humans (
Studying the temperature dependence of sleep in people has always been confounded by our ability to manipulate our environment and escape daily fluctuations in light and temperature. To get around this, Yetish et al. (2015) looked at sleep in three geographically distinct pre-industrial societies. They found that sleep onset coincided most strongly with a reduction in environmental temperature. Sleep was most often initiated after dark and the entire sleep period took place as ambient temperature was declining. Awakening also occurred before dawn, as ambient temperature reached its lowest point, and coincided with vasoconstriction, as measured by finger temperature (Yetish et al., 2015). A change in temperature in the fingers is a good measure of change in blood flow, and so it seems likely that these subjects started sleep in a state of vasodilation that was progressively replaced by vasoconstriction until waking (Rubinstein and Sessler, 1990; van Marken Lichtenbelt et al., 2006). A similar result was also observed by
The circadian cycle and the onset of the first NREM episode are strongly linked. If sleep onset is postponed by sleep deprivation, then the circadian temperature rhythm is disrupted. Similarly, a delay in core temperature decline of more than 2 h, is observed in patients with delayed sleep phase disorders (DSPDs) (Ozaki et al., 1996; van den Heuvel et al., 1998; Watanabe et al., 2003). Disruption of the peripheral vasodilatory response is sufficient to disrupt sleep. For instance, those with difficulty in peripheral vasodilation (vasospastic disorders) have longer sleep latencies than healthy controls (Pache et al., 2001). Narcoleptic patients also have a strongly altered proximal-to-distal skin temperature gradient during daytime waking (
Understanding how warmth might be encountered on a daily basis to precipitate these changes that initiate sleep and vasodilation is crucial. But it seems that the ‘warm bath effect’ is more subtle than previously thought. Raymann et al. (2008) have extended the warming paradigm with the aid of a custom-made ‘thermosuit’ for the manipulation of skin temperature. Small changes in skin temperature of only 0.4°C (in the 31–35 range), can shorten sleep latencies without altering core temperature. They can even encourage deeper sleep in more challenging patient groups, such as elderly insomniacs (Raymann et al., 2008). This latter group was particularly susceptible to this thermal management, supporting the hypothesis that sleep difficulties in the elderly relate to deficits in normal thermoregulation (Raymann and Van Someren, 2008).
In summary, humans and other mammals show thermoregulatory behaviour in preparation for sleep, including curling up, using bedding and nest building. This may generate a microclimate of warmth around the skin that enables entry into sleep while facilitating vasodilation in the ‘distal’ hands and feet. This vasodilation may prepare the ‘proximal’ core for the cooler and inactive phase of the circadian cycle. This warming persists through the night to maintain a sleep-permissive state that also permits selective vasodilation in NREM and constriction in REM and wake. It does so whilst maximising thermal efficiency of the core. The reasons that body cooling and sleep onset coincide are not clear. Body and brain cooling per se has not been shown to initiate NREM but is instead a consequence of vasodilation. We might expect that an upstream mechanism in the brain coordinates both NREM onset and vasodilation and in the next section we discuss how this might function (Van Someren, 2000).
Neuronal Control of Thermogenesis and its Influence on Sleep
Sleep is a fundamental physiological process that is widely believed to be essential for life but its vital function has yet to be identified. The neuronal circuits that control sleep need to integrate information from at least two distinct inputs. According to current thinking, these are known as Process C and Process S, the circadian and the homeostatic input, respectively, and are part of the two-process model (
FIGURE 3

Sensory and homeostatic inputs that gate sleep. Sleep onset is determined by four competing inputs: the homeostatic drive to sleep and three permissive conditions that relate to sleep timing, the behavioural input, the circadian input and the autonomic input. Endocrine inputs are also a key part of each category. Ghrelin and leptin are important for sensing of hunger/satiety, respectively, while melatonin is a key component of the circadian rhythm. Adenosine and NO may form part of the homeostatic input. (Top - Factors promoting wakefulness) Circadian cues are permissive for wake and homeostatic pressure to sleep is low. Behavioural factors also promote wakefulness and autonomic inputs are not permissive for sleep. Wake promoting nuclei drive cortical and thalamic excitability, whilst inhibiting sleep-prompting areas such as PO and vPAG. Behavioural needs of food and reproduction overcome those of sleep and thermal comfort. Behavioural inputs are also wake-promoting and may integrate this information in the VTA. Hormonal inputs, such as ghrelin, are detected in the ARC and are sleep-permissive. Autonomic signals, such as ambient temperature, are relayed via the spinal cord and pass through the LPb to the PO for integration. Circuits detecting environmental warmth are not active, vasoconstriction dominates and BAT is active. AgRP neurons signal hunger and inhibit sleep. (Bottom – Factors promoting NREM sleep) Circadian cues are now permissive for sleep and homeostatic pressure to sleep is high. Behavioural factors also promote sleep and autonomic inputs are permissive for sleep. On seeking shelter and warmth and having eaten, sleep is permitted. Autonomic signals, such as ambient temperature, are relayed via the spine and pass through the LPb to the PO for integration. NOS1-glutamate neurons are activated by skin warmth and initiate both NREM and body cooling. Activation of vasodilatory and BAT downregulation circuits is via NOS1 projections to LPO GABAergic neurons or via direct projections to DMH and rRPA/RVLM. Behavioural inputs are now sleep promoting and may integrate this information in the VTA. Hormonal inputs, such as leptin, are detected in the ARC and are sleep permissive. POMC neurons detect satiety and are permissive for sleep. NO, nitric oxide; NOS1, nitric oxide synthase-1; PO, preoptic area; LPO, lateral preoptic area; vPAG, ventral periaqueductal grey; TMN, tuberomammillary nucleus; VTA, ventral tegmental area; ARC, arcuate nucleus; LPb, lateral parabrachial; LC, locus coeruleus; DR, dorsal raphe; BAT, brown adipose tissue; AgRP, agouti-related peptide; DMH, dorsal medial hypothalamus; rRPA, rostral raphe pallidus; RVLM, rostral ventrolateral medulla; POMC, pro-opiomelanocortin (Leshan et al., 2012;
Although sleep onset and the regulation of sleep transitions may involve multiple nuclei in the brain, one area has been historically associated with NREM onset. The preoptic hypothalamus (PO) is a key site for NREM initiation but is also considered an integrator for thermoregulatory information, including cold and warm-defence (Szymusiak et al., 2007). It consists primarily of the median (MnPO), the medial (MPO) and lateral (LPO) areas that are associated with a large array of functions from sleep to parental behaviour.
Preoptic circuits have been proposed as the mechanistic connection between whole body warming and sleep induction (Morairty et al., 1993). The simplest version of this idea is that warming induces activity in sleep-promoting neurons. Indeed, warm stimuli are well known to increase activity in the PO (e.g., as seen by c-FOS expression) (Scammell et al., 1993;
WSNs can directly sense brain temperature and are proposed to be modulated by pyrogens such as prostaglandin E2 (Scammell et al., 1996; Lazarus et al., 2007). A population of glutamatergic neurons in the midline PO express the transient receptor potential member 2 (TRPM2) channel, enabling direct warm-sensing of local brain temperature. These could function to carry out heat defence but can also modulate the response to fever (Song et al., 2016).
With the exception of fever, it is unclear if skin warming could induce an increase in brain temperature that could be sensed by WSNs (Tan et al., 2016; Siemens and Kamm, 2018). Instead, a synaptic pathway is more likely. Neurons that receive afferent temperature information, but are not direct temperature ‘sensors’, have been distinguished by the term ‘warm-activated’ neurons (Tan and Knight, 2018). The MnPO and MPO hypothalamus receives sensory afferents conveying thermal information from the skin (
FIGURE 4

Signal integration in the preoptic hypothalamus. Warmth on the skin stimulates sensory inputs, through the LPb, to preoptic nitrergic-glutamatergic neurons that initiate simultaneous NREM and body cooling. This maybe through activation of separate GABAergic neurons for sleep and hypothermia in the MPO and LPO, but they may also activate galinergic-GABAergic neurons to initiate sleep and body cooling. The synaptic role of NO is unknown in these circuits but potential sites are labelled. NREM is initiated by inhibition of arousal nuclei, including the TMN and the LH. Others are likely to be involved. Body cooling is facilitated by activation of DMH and inhibition of rRPA neurons to induce vasodilation and downregulation of BAT thermogenesis. Inputs to the lateral parabrachial and the preoptic area are modulated by AgRP neuron-mediate inhibition from the arcuate. These detect hunger and put a break on NREM. Satiety induces activation of POMC neurons, that also express TRPV1, are permissive for NREM and induce local inhibition of AgRP neurons. Nitrergic-glutamate neurons may respond to leptin through the leptin Rb, as do AgRP and POMC neurons. They, or a separate local population, may also respond to changes in brain temperature through the TRPM2 ion channel. NO, nitric oxide; NOS1, nitric oxide synthase-1; PO, preoptic area; LPO, lateral preoptic area; vPAG, ventral periaqueductal grey; TMN, tuberomammillary nucleus; ARC, arcuate nucleus; LPb, lateral parabrachial; BAT, brown adipose tissue; AgRP, agouti-related peptide; POMC, pro-opiomelanocortin; DMH, dorsal medial hypothalamus; rRPA, rostral raphe pallidus; RVLM, rostral ventrolateral medulla; TRPM2, transient receptor potential cation channel; TRPV1, transient receptor potential cation channel vallinoid-1; GAL, Galanin (Leshan et al., 2012; Weber and Dan, 2016; Yu et al., 2016;
The PO is highly diverse region with many overlapping populations, but only some of these neurons have been functionally characterised (Moffitt et al., 2018). For example, GABAergic-galanin neurons are associated with both sleep and parental behaviour, but populations of galanin-glutamate neurons also exist (Sherin et al., 1998; Wu et al., 2014; Moffitt et al., 2018). PACAP/BDNF, TRPM2-glutamate and nitrergic-glutamate neurons are associated with warm-defence and fever but many other subpopulations exist (Song et al., 2016; Tan et al., 2016;
We hypothesised that thermoregulatory circuits themselves might have an important role in facilitating sleep. This would also explain the propensity of either external or direct PO warming to induce NREM sleep. We again used activity-tagging, but this time labelled only those preoptic ensembles that received warm sensory information. Reactivation of these ‘warm-tagged’ neurons produced simultaneous NREM and body cooling (
What is downstream of the MnPO/MPO nitrergic-glutamate neurons? The local preoptic area contains multiple populations of galanin neurons both excitatory and inhibitory (Moffitt et al., 2018). Recently, experiments have demonstrated that activating galanin neurons in the ventrolateral preoptic area (VLPO) can induce both NREM and hypothermia (Kroeger et al., 2018). Similarly, activation of galanin neurons in LPO can also induce NREM and hypothermia (Ma et al., 2019). The latter has parallels to the activation of GABAergic neurons activity-tagged during recovery sleep (Zhang et al., 2015). As the MnPO is known to send projections to both LPO and VLPO we have hypothesised that GABAergic-galanin neurons may be targets for nitrergic-glutamate neurons (Uschakov et al., 2007). In VLPO, activation of galanin neurons using DREADD receptors facilitated more NREM sleep when the mice were closer to thermoneutrality (29°C) and when hypothermia was blunted by warming at 36°C. Thermoneutrality appears to allow optimum recovery of REM sleep, compared to either the ambient (22°C) or warmed (36°C) conditions (Kroeger et al., 2018). This is consistent with the idea of a narrow temperature range for optimised REM sleep (
Thermogenesis Links Sleep to Energy Homeostasis
Thermoregulation, in particular thermal inefficiency, impacts energy homeostasis and changes feeding requirements. This is an additional homeostatic drive that adds its own ‘pressure’ to modulate sleep networks (Figure 3). Following a meal, adipocytes secrete the hormone leptin. This hormone is indicative of excess energy intake and discourages feeding. Leptin works through well-established pathways in the arcuate hypothalamic nucleus, where it inhibits NPY expressing AgRP neurons (Williams et al., 2009). However, there are also leptin receptors elsewhere in the CNS, including in the PO hypothalamus. PO glutamatergic neurons expressing the leptin receptor (leptinRb) are excited (they express c-FOS) when ambient temperature rises (Yu et al., 2016). This results in a reduced energy expenditure, through inhibited thermogenesis, and a decrease in food consumption (Zhang et al., 2011; Yu et al., 2016). Neurons that coexpress NOS1 and leptinRb have been identified in other parts of the hypothalamus and these can also inhibit thermogenesis (Leshan et al., 2012). Hence, it seems likely that there is some overlap between preoptic glutamatergic-leptinRb neurons and the NOS1 populations identified in
Recent data have provided a new insight into how energy balance might influence sleep.
In summary, it seems likely that there is significant overlap between neuronal populations that regulate sleep onset, thermogenesis and energy homeostasis. Sleep onset may be controlled, in part, by integrating these sensory inputs, including ambient temperature and energy status. It is less clear why gating sleep with these inputs would be beneficial.
Sleep Deprivation Disrupts Thermoregulation and Energy Balance
Sleep architecture is highly dependent on thermal factors, but the consequence of total sleep loss is a radical alteration of thermoregulation and energy balance. In rats, chronic total-sleep deprivation and selective REM deprivation, using the disk-over-water method for many days, leads to profound physiological effects and eventually death (
One mechanism by which mammals, and small rodents in particular, generate heat is through brown adipose tissue thermogenesis (BAT). This is also a key mechanism in regulating energy homeostasis. Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1) is a key component of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT). It decouples the electron transport chain from the ATP-synthase, facilitating heat production through proton gradient dissipation, without ATP production, and compensatory metabolism (
Torpor and Hibernation: Too Cold to Sleep?
The cooperation of body cooling and NREM sleep suggest that energy homeostasis is an important factor for sleep, but it is natural to ask if there is any link to more extreme states (Figure 5). When the need to save energy is sufficiently high many mammals sacrifice sleep to adopt an alternative thermoregulatory strategy of daily torpor or seasonal hibernation (Ruf and Geiser, 2015). Daily torpor is a state of hypothermia triggered by food scarcity. Mammals that use daily torpor, such as the Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus), typically drop their core temperature to 15–20°C for many hours, but, in many species, daily torpor can range between 10°C or as high as 30°C (Ruf and Geiser, 2015) (Figure 5).
FIGURE 5

State transitions at different core temperatures. Sleep, anaesthesia and torpor sit on a continuum of decreasing core temperature that directly influences EEG power. On average NREM bouts are cooler than those of wake whilst brain temperature during REM is warmer. A representative example of NREM EEG at approximately 37°C is shown in green. Sedatives and anaesthetics induces delta oscillations in the EEG but also hypothermia. Dexmedetomidine (DEX; 100 μg/kg IP) induces sustained sedation but the power of the delta oscillations is suppressed. The example is shown in blue, 2 h after injection with core temperature at approximately 26°C. If the same dose of DEX is given to animal in a warm chamber then the power of the delta oscillations recovers. The example is shown in red 2 h after injection with a core temperature at 34°C. Some mammals use daily torpor to save energy during times of food scarcity. On average these are between 15 and 20°C but can range between 10 and 30°C. At approximately 21°C states of torpor may generate a sleep debt that results in recovery sleep on rewarming to 37°C. Artificial hypothermia, sometimes known as synthetic torpor, can be induced by 5-AMP (0.5 g/kg IP). This also induces delta oscillations that are suppressed by hypothermia. The example is shown in blue, 1.5 h after injection with core temperature at approximately 23°C. Below approximately 10°C the EEG is isoelectric and no oscillation can be discerned. Hibernators have periods have interbout euthermia with normal EEG power and wake-NREM and wake-REM transitions are detected. Example species are labelled with the temperature that they have been observed in for either daily torpor or hibernation. This reflects ambient environmental conditions important for EEG measurements but is not a strict hierarchy. EEG examples are from (Harding et al., unpublished) except for the hibernation example which is adapted from
A range of mammals from ground squirrels to brown bears also use annual hibernation strategies for winter survival and reproduction (
Animals in either daily torpor or hibernation enter a state of inactivity or quiescence, but the power of the EEG signal observed in these animals scales with temperature: the lower the body temperature, the lower the power of the EEG (
To understand the relationship between sleep and temperature in hibernators, researchers have compared animals that hibernate at different ambient temperatures. Animals that hibernate at low temperatures, such as the arctic ground squirrels (Urocitellus parryii), briefly warm up to levels comparable to waking (36–37°C). These are periods of interbout euthermia (
The same temperature dependence of sleep is seen in hibernating primates. When dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus medius) choose a hibernaculum at warmer temperatures, their EEG resembles NREM and REM sleep and the episodes of euthermia disappear (
The neuronal circuitry that induces torpor and/or hibernation is not known. However, it is possible that it uses components of the natural sleep–wake circuitry. For example, NOS1-glutamate neurons in PO that induce NREM sleep and sustained hypothermia (
In summary, NREM sleep in a state of mild body cooling may be the preferred biological condition, but clearly in extreme environments, winter survival or times of food scarcity the restorative effects of sleep are, at least in part, sacrificed for energy conservation. As sleep can only be maintained at higher temperatures, it is energetically more expensive than torpor or hibernation. At these colder brain and core temperatures, sleep debts accumulate almost three times slower than during waking (
Why Link NREM Sleep and Body Cooling?
To recap, sleep in rodents is associated with temperature-cycling: wake to NREM sleep transitions coincide with a cooler body and brain facilitated by tail vasodilation. Indeed, effective thermoregulation and nesting behaviour produce warm microclimates that have a role in stimulating NREM sleep and body cooling. We have suggested that PO neurons both receive warm thermal information from the skin and simultaneously coordinate NREM sleep initiation and body cooling (
One of the first hypothesis regarding the lower temperatures coinciding with NREM sleep was that it existed specifically to cool the brain (McGinty and Szymusiak, 1990). It was proposed that a lower brain temperature would reduce cerebral metabolism, conserve energy and assist other functions from immune regulation to circadian coordination (McGinty and Szymusiak, 1990). Conservation of energy for sleep in its entirety has also been proposed (
It is feasible that reduced temperatures have a more direct function in the brain. At temperatures of 20°C or less, during which sleep debt is accumulated, morphological changes have been observed in dendritic spines (Peretti et al., 2015). Hibernators can undergo synaptic remodelling while cold, as do animals in artificial torpor induced by 5′-adenosine monophosphate (Popov and Bocharova, 1992; Magariños et al., 2006; Popov et al., 2007). In the latter condition, the total number of synapses is reduced (GM). The presence of these process may explain why sleep, as a restorative process, is inhibited at lower temperatures. Large changes in gene expression are also observed both in the brain and across the body in hibernators (Williams et al., 2005). Colder temperatures, particularly in the brain, can induce expression of so called ‘cold-shock’ proteins including cold-inducible RNA binding protein (CIRP) and RNA-binding motif protein 3 (RBM3) (Morf et al., 2012; Peretti et al., 2015;
The extensive neuronal inter-connections that cross-regulate energy use, sleep induction and body temperature (see Figure 3) hint that the function of sleep plays an important role in energy homeostasis. The temperature-dependence of sleep debt accumulation, which is slowed at cooler temperatures, suggests that this debt is inherently a metabolic processes. Lastly, the synchronised changes in brain temperature during sleep may coordinate gene expression important for the functions of sleep, whilst contributing to a mechanism that measures the time spent sleeping.
Statements
Author contributions
EH wrote the manuscript and designed the figures. All authors have discussed and edited the manuscript.
Funding
This work was funded by the UK Dementia Research Institute, which receives its funding from UK DRI, funded by the UK Medical Research Council, Alzheimer’s Society, and Alzheimer’s Research UK (NF and WW) and also by the Wellcome Trust (107839/Z/15/Z to NF and 107841/Z/15/Z to WW).
Acknowledgments
All images are used with permission or copyright clearance. The sleeping human (Figure 1A) is available under CC0-1.0 universal. We are grateful to Kathelijne Koops for the nesting chimpanzee picture, Isobel Harding for the picture of a sleeping cat, and to Ália dos Santos for proofreading the manuscript.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Summary
Keywords
sleep-wake cycle, thermoregulation, thermoregulatory behaviour, circadian, preoptic area, anterior hypothalamus, energy balance, nesting
Citation
Harding EC, Franks NP and Wisden W (2019) The Temperature Dependence of Sleep. Front. Neurosci. 13:336. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00336
Received
15 January 2019
Accepted
22 March 2019
Published
24 April 2019
Volume
13 - 2019
Edited by
Yu Hayashi, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Reviewed by
Genshiro A. Sunagawa, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Japan; Ramalingam Vetrivelan, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, United States
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© 2019 Harding, Franks and Wisden.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Nicholas P. Franks, n.franks@imperial.ac.uk William Wisden, w.wisden@imperial.ac.uk
This article was submitted to Sleep and Circadian Rhythms, a section of the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience
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