Melatonin ameliorates the sleep disorder induced by surgery under sevoflurane anaesthesia in aged mice

Laparotomy under sevoflurane anaesthesia significantly alters post-operative sleep patterns in aged melatonin-deficient mice.

• Surgery combined with sevoflurane anaesthesia has a greater impact on post-operative sleep than sevoflurane alone.
• Circadian rhythms shifted forward following laparotomy, along with changes in EEG activity during sleep.
• Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep showed altered power density and increased latencies for both REM and NREM sleep.
• In the light phase, there was a decrease in waking episodes and an increase in wake duration, while the opposite was observed in the dark phase.
• Exogenous melatonin improved sleep disorders and helped restore normal sleep patterns, but its effects were diminished by luzindole, a melatonin receptor blocker.

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