Skip to main content

Sleep Drive Suppression

Meaning

Sleep Drive Suppression is the physiological or behavioral process that temporarily dampens the homeostatic pressure for sleep, a pressure primarily governed by the accumulating concentration of the neuromodulator adenosine in the brain. This suppression can be actively induced through the consumption of exogenous agents, like caffeine, or passively through inappropriate environmental stimuli, such as late-evening bright light exposure. While offering temporary alertness, chronic or ill-timed sleep drive suppression significantly disrupts the natural sleep-wake cycle, impairing both cognitive function and hormonal regulation.