ABSTRACT

While some diseases and human behaviors fluctuate consistently with season, the extent of seasonal variations in sleep, especially at high latitudes, is less consistent. We used data from a geographic region (69º North) with extremely large seasonal differences in daylight that had the participants blinded for the current study’s hypotheses. Data were derived from the Tromsø Study (2015–2016), an ongoing population-based study in Northern Norway comprising citizens aged 40 years and older (n = 21,083, participation = 64.7%). The sleep parameters included bedtime, rise time, sleep onset latency (SOL), and total sleep time. Insomnia was defined according to recent diagnostic criteria (International Classification of Sleep Disorders; ICSD-3). We found some evidence of monthly or seasonal variation in sleep problems. Insomnia was most common during the winter months among men, but not women. No seasonal or monthly effects were observed for sleep duration. SOL was slightly longer during the winter months, but the differences were small and hardly of any clinical relevance. The small or non-existing seasonal variation in sleep and sleep difficulties indicate that extreme seasonal variation in daylight is of little influence on sleep status. The city of Tromsø is a modern city with considerable level of artificial light, which may contribute to the observed rather stabile sleep patterns throughout the year.

摘要

虽然一些疾病和人类行为会随着季节不断波动，但睡眠的季节性变化程度，尤其是在高纬度地区，则不太一致。我们使用了来自一个地理区域（北 69 度）的数据，该区域的日光季节性差异非常大，参与者对当前研究的假设不知情。数据来自特罗姆瑟研究（2015-2016），这是一项在挪威北部正在进行的基于人口的研究，包括 40 岁及以上的公民（n = 21,083，参与率 = 64.7%）。睡眠参数包括入睡时间、起床时间、入睡潜伏期 (SOL) 和总睡眠时间。失眠是根据最近的诊断标准（国际睡眠障碍分类；ICSD-3）定义的。我们发现了睡眠问题每月或季节性变化的一些证据。失眠在男性中最常见于冬季，女性则不然。没有观察到睡眠持续时间的季节性或每月影响。SOL 在冬季月份略长，但差异很小，几乎没有任何临床意义。睡眠和睡眠困难的微小或不存在的季节性变化表明，日光的极端季节性变化对睡眠状态几乎没有影响。特罗姆瑟市是一座现代城市，人造光水平相当高，这可能有助于观察到全年相当稳定的睡眠模式。睡眠和睡眠困难的微小或不存在的季节性变化表明，日光的极端季节性变化对睡眠状态几乎没有影响。特罗姆瑟市是一座现代城市，人造光水平相当高，这可能有助于观察到全年相当稳定的睡眠模式。睡眠和睡眠困难的微小或不存在的季节性变化表明，日光的极端季节性变化对睡眠状态几乎没有影响。特罗姆瑟市是一座现代城市，人造光水平相当高，这可能有助于观察到全年相当稳定的睡眠模式。