Sleep and circadian rhythms are fundamental biological processes that bidirectionally regulate metabolic homeostasis, cognitive performance, emotional regulation, and overall mental health. Disruptions in these systems have been increasingly recognized as pathogenic drivers in metabolic disorders, neurocognitive dysfunction, immune dysregulation, and psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Recent advances in neuroimaging, digital health phenotyping, multi-omics profiling, and computational neuroscience have enabled more precise delineation of the bidirectional links between sleep physiology, energy balance, and neurobehavioral outcomes. Simultaneously, establishing animal models of human disease, large-scale epidemiological cohorts, and clinical trials has provided translational and critical insight into how environmental, nutritional, and pharmacological factors interact with sleep to shape health trajectories. This rapidly evolving field highlights the need for an integrated framework that unites molecular, behavioral, and clinical perspectives to better understand the nexus of sleep, biological clock, metabolism, and mental health.

The primary objective of this Research Topic is to address the pressing need for a mechanistic, translational, and population-level understanding of how sleep and circadian disruption contribute to metabolic and psychiatric pathophysiology. Despite substantial progress, significant gaps remain in linking cellular- and neural circuitry-level processes—such as metabolic signaling, neuroimmune pathways, and synaptic plasticity—to clinical manifestations including mood disorders, cognitive impairment, and cardiometabolic disease. Recent advances, including real-time digital health monitoring, machine-learning-based behavioral phenotyping, and precision nutrition approaches, present new opportunities to quantify and model dynamic interactions between sleep–wake regulation and systemic brain–body physiology. Additionally, innovations in chrono-therapeutics, anesthesiology research, and circadian-informed pharmacology offer novel avenues for intervention. This Research Topic seeks to consolidate multidisciplinary discoveries, promote harmonization of measurement strategies, and catalyze translational pipelines from basic neurobiology to diagnostic innovation and evidence-based therapeutics. By integrating clinical trials, computational modeling, and epidemiological findings, we aim to facilitate a holistic understanding that ultimately informs prevention and personalized treatment strategies.

This Research Topic welcomes contributions that explore the relationships among sleep, circadian rhythms, metabolism, and mental health from molecular, behavioral, clinical, and computational perspectives.

Specific themes include:

- neurobiological mechanisms linking sleep to metabolic and psychiatric disorders

- circadian regulation of nutrition, immunity, and pharmacological responses

- digital health tools for sleep and behavioral assessment

anesthesia-related insights into consciousness and metabolic regulation

- learning and memory processes influenced by sleep architecture

- epidemiological or diagnostic approaches to sleep-related health outcomes.

To fully facilitate this exploration, this Research Topic is open to studies, reviews, and insights based on the findings in various model systems, including C. elegans, Drosophila, mice, and humans.

We welcome a variety of article types, including Original Research, Brief Research Report, Clinical Trial, Data Report, Hypothesis and Theory, Methods, Review, Mini Review, Opinion, Perspective, Technology, and Code. Interdisciplinary and translational work that bridges basic neuroscience with clinical or public-health relevance is especially encouraged.

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Nexus of Sleep, Circadian Rhythm, Metabolism, and Mental Health