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Circadian Preference and Sexual Selection: A Novel Evolutionary Approach

Davide Piffer¹

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1. Universite di Pisa, Scienze Sociali

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Document Type:

Manuscript

Date:

Received 21 March 2009 15:16 UTC; Posted 31 March 2009

Subjects:

Evolutionary Biology

Tags:

• circadian rhythm
• sleep
• sexual behavior
• circadian phase

Abstract:

Human sleep patterns differ across age groups and between males and females, and their association with age and gender suggest that they might have been the target of sexual selection during human evolutionary history. In this study, I will test the hypothesis that a phase-delayed circadian phase is a sexually selected trait in humans. A short version of the Horne and Ostberg questionnaire and a questionnaire on sexual behaviour were administered to 134 males and 140 females. A significant negative relationship was found between the MEQ score and the number of sexual partners among males, with evening types reporting more sexual partners than morning types. No significant relationship between females MEQ and number of sexual partners was found. Findings support the hypothesis that evening preference in males is a sexually selected trait.

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License:

This document is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

How to cite this document:

Piffer, Davide. Circadian Preference and Sexual Selection: A Novel Evolutionary Approach. Available from Nature Precedings <http://hdl.handle.net/10101/npre.2009.2964.1> (2009)

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