Psychosomatic Medicine 31:68-79 (1969)
© 1969 American Psychosomatic Society

Excretion of 17-Hydroxycorticosteroids and Vanillylmandelic Acid During 205 Hours of Sleep Deprivation in Man

¹ Navy Medical Neuropsychiatric Research Unit San Diego, Calif. 92152 Department of Psychiatry, U.C.L.A. School of Medicine Los Angeles, Calif.

Previous studies of adrenocortical activity during sleep deprivation revealed unchanged or lowered plasma 17-hydroxycorticosteroid (17-OHCS) levels and either unchanged, lowered, or elevated urine 17-OHCS values, depending on the subject and the length of the deprivation period. In the present study, plasma 17-OHCS, urine 17-OHCS, and urine vanillymandelic acid (VMA) were measured during 205 hr. of wakefulness, the rationale being that an extended period of sleep deprivation might result in more definitive physiological responses. Plasma 17-OHCS in all 4 subjects decreased to a low point at about 90 hr., then increased to peak values at about 170 hr. Urine 17-OHCS values tended to reflect changes in plasma 17-OHCS levels. Urine VMA excretion varied considerably among the 4 subjects. The results suggest that prolonged sleep deprivation per se results in only mild, if any, specific activation of the pituitary-adrenocortical axis and in variable increases of catecholamine biosynthesis. Differing patterns of physiological activity may occur among sleep-deprived subjects.