Clock-Sleep Communication

Rhythmicity is a characteristic feature of the inanimate universe. The organization of biological rhythms in time is an adaptation to the cyclical environmental changes brought on by the earth's rotation on its axis and around the sun. Circadian (L. Circa = "around or approximately"; diem = "a day") rhythms are biological responses to the geophysical light/dark (LD) cycle in which an organism adjusts to alterations in its internal physiology or external environment as a function of the time of day. Sleep has been considered a biological rhythm. Normal human sleep, an essential physiologic process, comprises two distinct phases: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. A mature adult human's sleep/wake cycle displays a circadian rhythm with a ~24-hour cycle. According to the two-process model of sleep regulation, the human sleep/wake cycle is orchestrated by circadian and homeostatic processes. Sleep homeostasis (a sleep-dependent process) and circadian rhythm (a sleep-independent process) are two biological processes controlling the sleep/wake cycle. There are also ultradian (< 24-hour) rhythms, including the NREM-REM sleep cycle, which has been extensively studied. The clock and sleep genes both influence sleep. In this overview, we have reviewed the circadian genes and their role in regulating sleep. Besides, the gene expression and biological pathways associated with sleep and circadian rhythm-associated diseases also have been highlighted.