Aims & Scope

npj Biological Timing and Sleep considers research that explores all aspects of sleep, circadian and other biological rhythms.

The journal covers a broad range of topics including but not limited to:

  • Molecular mechanisms of cellular timing
  • Regulation of arousal state transitions and local sleep
  • Rhythms in metabolism and signal transduction
  • Spatiotemporal regulation of endogenous oscillations
  • Sexual dimorphism and environmental interactions
  • Modes of synchrony and entrainment
  • Oscillator coupling and theory
  • Circadian and sleep health
  • Evolution and ecology of biological timekeeping

We aim to cover research encompassing biochemistry and structural biology, cellular mechanisms, tissue and whole organism physiology, neuroscience, mathematical and systems biology, observational and clinical studies, interdisciplinary approaches, disease models, host-pathogen interactions, comparative chronobiology, population-level studies, and new research methods. We value research involving model organisms as well as replication studies of important recent findings.

The journal offers more choice to Nature Portfolio authors who are seeking a fully open-access and more inclusive platform for publishing their work. The journal is led by chronobiology and sleep science experts who collaborate to cultivate high-quality research. As part of the npj Series, this journal focuses on fostering global partnerships with the research community and other Springer Nature journals.