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Breathing around the clock: an overview of the circadian pattern of respiration

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Abstract

This article reviews human and animal studies about the circadian patterns of physiological variables involved with the respiratory function. Some measures reflecting the mechanical properties of the lungs, such as functional residual capacity, forced expiratory volumes and airway resistance, change periodically with the time of the day. Also resting pulmonary ventilation (V̇ E), tidal volume, and breathing rate follow circadian patterns. In humans, these patterns occur independently of the daily changes in activity, whereas, to some extent, they are linked to changes in the state of arousal. Differently, in some rodents, the circadian oscillations of the breathing pattern occur independently of the daily rhythms of either activity or state of arousal. Recent measurements of the breathing pattern for unlimited periods of time in undisturbed animals have indicated that the circadian changes occur in close temporal phase with those of oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, and body temperature. However, none of these variables can fully explain the circadian pattern of breathing, the origin of which remains unclear. Both in humans and in rats the V̇ E responses to hypercapnia or hypoxia differ at various times of the day. In rats, the daily differences in V̇ E responses are buffered by changes in metabolic rate, such that, unlike humans, the hyperventilation (defined as the increase in ventilation–metabolism ratio) remains constant throughout the 24 h. The presence of a biological clock is a major advantage in the adaptation to the environment, although it forces some variables to deviate periodically from their mean value. In humans, these deviations become apparent in conditions of hypoxia. Hence, a daily time-window exists in which the respiratory system is less capable of responding to challenges, a factor which may contribute to the findings that some cardio-respiratory symptoms and diseases peak at particular times of the day.

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Notes

  1. In humans, sleep usually occurs in one time-block of many hours. In many species, however, sleep occurs in bouts alternating with wakefulness throughout the whole 24 h (Meddis 1975)

  2. The exception is at the equator, where L:D is 12:12 in any day of the year

  3. The first recorded observations of an endogenous clock were presented about three centuries ago by the French astronomer Mairan who noticed that the daily L–D-dependent movements of leaflets and the opening and closure of flowers persisted even after the plant was placed in a closet and shielded from the external time cues

  4. From the term circadian, from the Latin circa diem or about 1 day

  5. Usually, arterial and alveolar values of PCO2 are almost identical, and P ACO2 = (V̇CO2/V̇ A)·barometric pressure

  6. The barometric technique basically consists in recording the change in ambient pressure generated by the breathing act of a subject or animal enclosed in a sealed chamber. In fact, during the inspiratory phase of the cycle, the inspired air is warmed and humidified from the ambient to the lung values, raising the chamber pressure. The opposite occurs in expiration. The historical development of this technique, and a review of its potential sources of errors, are presented in Mortola and Frappell (1998)

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  1. Department of Physiology, McIntyre Basic Sciences Building, room 1121, McGill University, 3655 Sir William Osler Promenade, H3G 1Y6, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Jacopo P. Mortola

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Mortola, J.P. Breathing around the clock: an overview of the circadian pattern of respiration. Eur J Appl Physiol 91, 119–129 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-003-0978-0

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