ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: Sleep restriction is a common feature of modern lifestyle and its effects can be extended to pregnancy. Several neurobehavioural consequences of sleep restriction during pregnancy have been reported, among which stand out perinatal depression and maternal fatigue, however, its effects over mother-infant relationship warrant further investigation. Thus, this study was aimed to evaluate the effects of sleep restriction during pregnancy over maternal behaviour and maternal aggression through animal models. Methods: Eighteen 90-day-old female Wistar rats were distributed in two groups: (i) Control - not submitted to any manipulation during pregnancy, and (ii) Sleep restriction - submitted to sleep restriction during the entire pregnancy (21 days) through the multiple platforms technique. In the postpartum day 5, resident-intruder paradigm and the latencies test were performed to assess both maternal behaviour and maternal aggression. Results: The sleep-restricted females displayed grooming in less frequency and duration, and with higher latency when compared to normal animals, while maternal aggression and maternal behaviour parameters remained equivalent between groups. Interpretation & conclusions: Considering the maintenance of maternal behavioural parameters, the inhibition of grooming seems to exert an adaptive mechanism, enabling sleep-restricted rats to display maternal behaviour properly.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the paired consequences of food restriction and paradoxical sleep deprivation on lipid profile and spontaneous glucose levels in male rats. METHOD: Food restriction began at weaning, with 6 g of food being provided per day, which was subsequently increased by 1 g per week until reaching 15 g per day by the eighth week. At adulthood, both rats subjected to food restriction and those fed ad libitum were exposed to paradoxical sleep deprivation for 96 h or were maintained in their home-cage groups. RESULTS: Animals subjected to food restriction exhibited a significant increase in high-density lipoprotein levels compared to animals that were given free access to food. After the paradoxical sleep deprivation period, the foodrestricted animals demonstrated reduced concentrations of high-density lipoprotein relative to their respective controls, although the values for the food-restricted animals after sleep deprivation were still higher than those for the ad libitum group. The concentration of low-density lipoproteins was significantly increased in sleep-deprived animals fed the ad libitum diet. The levels of triglycerides, very low-density lipoproteins, and glucose in foodrestricted animals were each decreased compared to both ad libitum groups. CONCLUSION: These results may help to illustrate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between sleep curtailment and metabolism and may suggest that, regardless of sleep deprivation, dietary restriction can minimize alterations in parameters related to cardiovascular risk.