The dynamics of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and cortisol secretion from sleep through awakening were examined by collecting and analyzing saliva samples using a novel method. Sixteen male university students who voluntarily participated in this study were instructed to sleep from 0000 h to 0600 h, and their salivary cortisol and DHEA concentrations were evaluated during sleep until 1 h after awakening. We observed a marked elevation in DHEA upon awakening, referred to as the DHEA awakening response (DAR), which peaked at a different time from that of cortisol awakening response (CAR). Furthermore, DAR correlated positively with the subject s subjective quality of sleep, whereas cortisol concentration did not. Therefore, the DAR may be an index of subjective sleep quality.
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