Gender-related parameters of higher nervous activity, daily cortisol dynamics, and antioxidant status in students

Abstract

The gender-related traits of higher nervous activity were studied in, 330 students, including 169 boys and 161 girls aged from 17 to 22 years (the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), Spielberger-Khanin test, Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale questionnaires, and stress test); the sleep–wakefulness state was also assessed (sleep quality, healthy sleep, daytime sleepiness, and chronotype). The level of salivary cortisol and total antioxidant activity were determined in the morning and evening in mixed saliva samples. It was found that the level of neuroticism and anxiety was higher in women in comparison with men, which was accompanied by a low ability to endure stressful situations and sleep disorders. These changes in the women were accompanied by a decrease in the total antioxidant activity of saliva and an increase in the evening level of salivary cortisol with disorders in the daily dynamics of the hormone. It is proposed that these features of the women are due to specific reactions of women to social stress factors in the conditions of the student lifestyle