Sleepiness profiles in mice submitted to acute and chronic sleep deprivation

Sleepiness is a behavioural consequence of sleep pressure, which shows interindividual variation, a characteristic possibly related to central sleep mechanisms. However, there is a lack of evidence linking progressive sleep need and sleepiness with factors of individual variability, which could be tested by total acute and chronic sleep deprivation. Thus, the objective of the study was to investigate the development of sleepiness in sleep deprived mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were distributed in sleep deprivation, sleep rebound and control groups. Animals underwent acute sleep deprivation for 3, 6, 9 or 12 h or chronic sleep deprivation for 6 h for 5 consecutive days. Sleep rebound groups had a sleep opportunity for 1, 2, 3, or 4 h after acute sleep deprivation or 24 h after chronic sleep deprivation. During the protocols, sleep attempts were counted to calculate a sleepiness index. After euthanasia, blood was collected for corticosterone assessment. Using the average of group sleep attempts, it was possible to differentiate between sleepy (mean>group average) and resistant animals (mean