Light, social zeitgebers, and the sleep–wake cycle in the entrainment of human circadian rhythms

Elmore, Shawn K.; Betrus, Patricia A.; Burr, Robert L.

doi:10.1002/nur.4770170610

Cited by 23 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Interdaily sleep irregularity tends to be higher in men and E‐types, with women of M‐types characterized by the most regular pattern. Sleep–wake cycle is not only a variable under the control of the central pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, but regular sleep–wake pattern is also used as an internal zeitgeber by the human circadian system, improving the amplitude and robustness of many others’ circadian rhythms (Elmore, Betrus, & Burr, 1994). Irregular zeitgeber exposure are associated with impaired health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, digestive diseases, poor sleep quality, and, recently, aging (Erren, Reiter, & Piekarski, 2003).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Chronobiology and Sleep Habits in School and University

Azevedo¹,

Sousa²,

Paul³

et al. 2008

Mind Brain and Education

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ABSTRACT— Early morning school schedules are in the opposite direction to the sleep–wake cycle in adolescence and early adulthood. This conflict leads to sleep deprivation and irregular patterns whose consequences are scarcely explored. This article discusses the effects of three educational experiences with high school students, parents, teachers, and medical students. The first experience was developed with high school students in Natal, Brazil, to determine whether sleep habits would improve with increased awareness. Positive effects were observed in some aspects of sleep knowledge and practices. In the second experience in Atlanta, GA, sleep education activities were presented to middle and high school teachers, parents, and students to emphasize the importance of sleep. In the third program in Murcia, Spain, undergraduate medical students were introduced to chronobiology of sleep by a practical exercise that pointed out to what extent they shared most of adolescent sleep characteristics. Educational chronobiological experiences about sleep are essential to develop healthy sleep habits in the general population, particularly in students.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Chronobiology and Sleep Habits in School and University

Azevedo¹,

Sousa²,

Paul³

et al. 2008

Mind Brain and Education

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“…Social rhythms are an important "zeitgeber" or time cue which can help to maintain the setting of the body's circadian biological clock. (21,22) The loss of time and opportunity for recreation, social contact, or even scheduling of routine daytime chores that most caregivers experience may further contribute to the overall deterioration of their sleep/wake routines.…”

Section: Sleep and Disrupted Routinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep disturbances in caregivers of persons with dementia: Contributing factors and treatment implications

McCurry

Logsdon

Teri

et al. 2007

Sleep Medicine Reviews

259

263

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Estimates suggest that there are more than 10 million adult caregivers of persons with dementia, twothirds of who experience some form of sleep disturbance during the course of their caregiving career. Health care professionals are in the best position to detect and address this significant public health problem. Three major contributors to caregiver sleep disturbance are discussed in this paper: 1) the presence of caregiver disrupted sleep routines; 2) caregiver burden and depression; and, 3) the caregiver's physical health status. Successful treatment of a caregiver's sleep disturbance requires careful consideration of each of these contributors. We review and analyze the scientific literature concerning the multiple complex factors associated with the development and maintenance of sleep disturbances in caregivers. We provide a clinical vignette that illustrates the interplay of these contributing factors, and close by providing recommendations for clinicians and researchers treating and investigating the development and maintenance of sleep problems in family caregivers. Keywordssleep; insomnia; caregivers; Alzheimer's disease; dementia; depression The National Alliance for Caregivers estimates that there are 44.4 million caregivers age 18 and older in the United States, representing 21% of all U.S. households. (1) The vast majority of these caregivers are women, who are either living with the care-recipient or visiting them at least weekly, and who receive no paid and very little unpaid assistance with their family member's care. In a 2003 national survey, 23% of caregivers reported that they were caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or other mental confusion. (1) Sleep disturbances are common among dementia caregivers. Studies over the past 15 years have reported that approximately two-thirds of older adult caregivers have some form of sleep disturbance. (2-4) Caregiver sleep problems are often presumed to be linked to nighttime behaviors in the care-recipient. Obviously, if a person with dementia is awake and roaming around the house at night, this behavior impacts the caregiver's sleep as well. In fact, research Corresponding author: Susan M. McCurry, Ph.D. UW School of Nursing 9709 3 rd Ave. NE, Ste. 507 Seattle, WA 98115-2053 smccurry@u.washington.edu 206-685-9113 (telephone) 206-616-5588 (fax). Co-authors: Logsdon, Teri: same mailing address/fax as phone/emails: 206-685-1758, logsdon@u.washington.edu; 206-543-0715, lteri@u.washington.edu Vitiello: University of Washington, Box 356560, Seattle, vitiello@u.washington.edu Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaim...

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“…In relation to social and emotional functioning, while there has been a great deal of research on the role of light on circadian rhythms (Czeisler, 1995) and depression (Tuunainen et al, 2001) and social factors in the entrainment of circadian rhythms (Ehlers et al, 1988;Monk et al, 1990;Elmore et al, 1994), less attention has been paid to the unique contribution of light to social and emotional functioning. Reid et al (2000) studied the differential sensitivity to external (i.e., social) zeitgebers on mood fluctuations for subjects who demonstrate varying degrees of seasonality of mood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light exposure is related to social and emotional functioning and to quality of life in older women

Grandner

Kripke

Langer

2006

Psychiatry Research

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While there are data supporting the use of light in clinical populations, there has been less investigation of relationships among light and psychological variables in non-clinical samples. Subjects were 459 ethnically diverse women (mean age 67.68) recruited as part of the Women's Health Initiative. Light exposure and sleep were measured with an Actillume wrist actigraph. Subjects completed questionnaires, investigating Social Support, Social Functioning, Social Strain, Quality of Life, Satisfaction with Life, Emotional Well-being, Optimism, Negative Emotional Expressiveness, and Role Limitation Due to Emotional Problems. Significant partial correlations (controlling for age, education and ethnicity) were found between mesor light exposure and Social Functioning, Quality of Life, Satisfaction with Life, and Emotional Well-Being. Quality of Life and Satisfaction with Life were also found to be significantly correlated with morning light. The most parsimonious model to account for the variance shared between mesor light and the predictors included only Quality of Life. The variance shared between mesor light exposure and social and emotional functioning could be subsumed under the variance shared between mesor light exposure and Quality of Life. Increased light exposure is related to improved quality of life and social and emotional functioning.

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Light, social zeitgebers, and the sleep–wake cycle in the entrainment of human circadian rhythms

Cited by 23 publications

References 32 publications

Teaching Chronobiology and Sleep Habits in School and University

Teaching Chronobiology and Sleep Habits in School and University

Sleep disturbances in caregivers of persons with dementia: Contributing factors and treatment implications

Light exposure is related to social and emotional functioning and to quality of life in older women

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