Progressive elevation of plasma thyrotropin during adaptation to simulated jet lag: Effects of treatment with bright light or zolpidem

It is well known that TSH secretion is modulated by sleep and circadian rhythmicity, but effects of abrupt shifts of the sleep-wake and dark-light cycles such as occur in jet lag and shift work have not been investigated. The present study examines alterations in the 24-h profiles of plasma TSH and thyroid hormones following an 8-h advance shift achieved without enforcing prolonged sleep deprivation. The effects of bright light exposure or sleep facilitation with zolpidem were investigated in separate studies performed in the same subjects. Each study involved blood sampling at 20-min intervals for 68 h and included a baseline period with dim light during waking hours and 2300-0700 h bedtimes in total darkness, The 8-h shift was achieved by advancing bedtimes to 1500-2300 h. In the course of adaptation to the shift, TSH levels increased progressively in all three studies because daytime sleep failed to inhibit TSH and nighttime wakefulness was associated with large TSH elevations. The overall elevation of TSH tended to be paralleled by a small increase in T-3, but not free T-4, levels. In the absence of treatment, mean TSH levels following awakening from the second shifted sleep were more than a-fold higher than during the same time interval following normal nocturnal sleep (2.10 +/- 0.22 mU/L vs. 1.04 +/- 0.14 mU/L; n = 8, P < 0.001). Bright Light exposure limited the overall increase of TSH, and mean TSH levels at the end of the study were lower than in the absence of treatment (P < 0.03). Treatment with zolpidem during the first shifted night limited the overall increase in TSH levels during the following waking period (P < 0.05), but the beneficial effect was no longer significant following the second shifted night. Thus, the jet lag syndrome may be associated with a prolonged elevation of peripheral TSH levels that may be limited by treatment with bright light exposure or hypnotic facilitation of sleep.