Characteristic changes in sleep patterns during pregnancy in rats

The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in sleep patterns during pregnancy to better understand sleep regulation during pregnancy. We uninterruptedly recorded electroencephalogram (EEG),electromyogram (EMG), and brain temperature (Tbr) throughout pregnancy in rats. The duration of non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep decreased after day 5 of pregnancy associated with an inverse increase in the number of non-REM sleep episodes. Thus, the amount of total non-REM sleep time remained constant throughout pregnancy. The amount of total REM sleep time decreased on day 17 of pregnancy after which the reduced state was sustained. That was mainly due to a decrease in the number of REM sleep episodes. Brain temperature (Tbr) gradually decreased as pregnancy advanced, reaching its lowest value 3 days before delivery. These observations provide a better understanding of the sleep patterns during pregnancy, and useful information for investigation of mechanisms of sleep regulation during pregnancy.