2010 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

An examination of biological rhythms based on hormone secretion in saliva as parameters of morning motivation or fatigue

Research Project

Project/Area Number	20500594
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Applied health science
Research Institution	Chiba University
Principal Investigator	NAGANE Mitsuo Chiba University, 教育学部, 教授 (00361402)
Project Period (FY)	2008 – 2010
Keywords	生体リズム / 青少年 / 生活スタイル / 唾液中ホルモン
Research Abstract	Adolescent in Japan suffering from psychosomatic complaints often have chronotypic problems. In the current study, 15 healthy students between 21 and 22 years of age were examined for physiological parameters of chronotypes based on melatonin and growth hormone secretion patterns, using a fluorescence enzyme immunoassay. Salivary samples were collected from subjects at home five times each day. In addition, the subjects rated their psychosomatic symptoms twice a day. The irregular circadian rhythm of melatonin (ICR) group showed more psychosomatic complaints as compared with the regular circadian rhythm (RCR) group, especially for anxiety. Psychosomatic symptoms, especially anxiety, might be associated with melatonin and growth hormone rhythms, which can be altered by basic lifestyle habits even in healthy students.