Two-process model of sleep regulation
Two-process model of sleep regulation is the model of sleep first published by Alexander Borbely in 1982. It has since become the core model in understanding sleep.
The model describes two components of sleep drive:
- circadian - body clock that runs in ~24h cycles
- homeostatic - sleepiness caused by waking fatigue
Good sleep can be achieved by a high level of sleep propensity generated by both components of sleep. The way the sleep is triggered by the two propensity components is explained by a sleep flip-flop model (see: Sleep flip-flop).
If you collect your own sleep data with SleepChart, you can model your own sleep drive using the model. You can also optimize the best time for learning (see: Charting sleep).
See also:
This glossary entry is used to explain "Good sleep, good learning, good life" (2017) by Piotr Wozniak
Figure: An exemplary interpretation of the two-process model of sleep regulation taken from an actual sleep log in SuperMemo for Windows. Aqua line represents circadian sleepiness. Green line represents homeostatic alertness (an inverse of the homeostatic sleep propensity). Red line represents overall alertness that is an inverse of cumulative sleep propensity. Best alertness is achieved when both components of sleepiness are at their lowest. Inspired by research of Alexander A. Borbély and Peter Achermann