Abstract
A COMMON approach to the understanding of human circadian rhythms is to study their modifiability. Attempts to replace the 24 h sleep–wakefulness rhythm in man by cycles of slightly altered length (for example, 21 or 27 h) have had some success1,2. Attempts to produce sleeping–waking rhythms which are a multiple of the natural cycle length such as 12 or 48 h have not, however, been very successful2,3; the reasons for this are not yet clear.
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References
Lewis, P. R., and Lobban, M. C., Quart. J. Exp. Physiol., 42, 356 (1957).
Kleitman, N., Sleep and Wakefulness, 175 (Univ. Chicago Press, 1963).
Dement, W., Science, 131, 1705 (1960).
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MEDDIS, R. Human Circadian Rhythms and the 48 Hour Day. Nature 218, 964–965 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/218964a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/218964a0
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