Endogenous and exogenous components of circadian rhythms when living on a 21-hour day.
The effects of living on a 21-h sleep-wakeful cycle upon the rhythms of urinary electrolyte excretion and deep body temperature were measured in a single female subject in an isolation unit. The effects of this 21-h routine upon the endogenous components of these rhythms were assessed by studying the subject, after 4 days on this routine, on a 'constant routine' in which exogenous rhythmic influences were removed, and the absence of any timepiece. The results confirm conclusions from previous studies which indicate that during a 21-h routine both endogenous and exogenous components are simultaneously present, though the relative size of these components depended on the variable under consideration. The endogenous component appeared to free-run with a period longer than 24 h. In the second experiment (when all timepieces were removed at the end of the time on a 21-h routine) the sleep-wakeful cycle continued to oscillate for several cycles with a period near 21 h. This suggests that activity was controlled by an oscillator which could be entrained to a period of 21 h.
D000328:Adult; D001831:Body Temperature; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004231:Diuresis; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010507:Periodicity; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology*
D004573:Electrolytes