Circadian rhythms in subjective activation, mood, and performance efficiency

주관적 각성정도, 기분, 수행능력의 일중변화

Circadian rhythms in subjective alertness, mood, and performance can be classified as psychological rhythm, compared with physiological rhythm such as body temperature and hormonal change. While in normal condition entrained by 24hr zeitgeber, subjective alertness would reach its maximum value around midday, subjective alertness would parallel body temperature rhythm with its peak at evening in non-entrained, free-running state. With desynchronization technique, subjective alertness rhythm is thought to be controlled by both temperature and sleep-wake rhythm oscillator. Circadian performance rhythms depend on the kind of task tested. It shows parallelism with body temperature rhythm when subjects are tested with simple, repetitive task. But when tested with tasks requiring complex verbal reasoning or immediate memory, subjects would perform them best at early morning, with performance decreasing as time of day advances. The desynchronization technique shows that circadian performance rhythm of simple, repetitive task is dependent on temperature oscillator but circadian performance rhythm of complex verbal reasoning is influenced by both temperature and sleep-wake rhythm oscillator or another independent oscillator. It would be worthwhile to compare psychological rhythm with hormonal change such as cortisol and melatonin. And more simple and time-saving method than desynchronization technique may facilitate the study of the mechanism underlying psychological rhythm.