Circadian Disorders

Paper Summary:

The paper states that sleep is a fundamental requirement of all forms of biological life and that sleep deprivation has long been associated with decreased physical performance and mental acuity. The paper discusses more recent studies that have implicated both the quality of sleep and also the disruption of circadian cycles, even without any reduction to its overall amount, in various human health problems. The paper comments that to properly address these issues, contemporary vocational operations and practices should incorporate the latest indications of the relationship between common business operational management and the importance of adequate quality sleep and circadian regularity.

From the Paper:

"In general, psychological experiments including the study of sleep are susceptible both to the placebo effect and also to expectancy bias on the part of researchers.Czeisler, et al demonstrated experimentally that the natural human circadian cycle is actually slightly out of synch with the 24-hour earth day, but that exposure to light continually resets the human circadian rhythm from its natural 24.18 hours to the 24-hour cycle. Lamond, et al demonstrated the detrimental impact of night shift work cycles on vocational performance and similar studies on other organisms established the extent to which sleep deprivation undermines a wide range of basic biological functions including everything from feeding behavior, directional orientation, and even mating behavior."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Czeisler, C.A., Duffy, J.F., Shanahan, T.L., Brown, E. N., Mitchell, J.F., Rimmer, D.W., Ronda, J.M., Silva, E. J., Allan, D.S., Emens, J.S., Derk-Jan, D., and Kronauer, R.A (1999) Stability, Precision, and Near-24-Hour Period of the Human Circadian Pacemaker; Science Jun 25/99, pp. 2177-2181
• Lamond, N., Dorrian, J., Roach, G D., McCulloch, K., Holmes, A.L., Burgess, H .J., Fletcher, A., and Dawson, D. (2003) The Impact of a Week of Simulated Night Work on Sleep, Circadian Phase, and Performance; Occupational. Environment, Sep/03, pp.13-21.
• Pauley, S. (2004) Lighting for the Human Circadian Clock: Recent Research Indicates that Lighting Has Become a Public Health Issue. Medical Hypotheses 63, 588-596.
• Shaw, P. J., Cirelli, C., Greenspan, R.J., and Tononi, G. (2000) Correlates of Sleep and Waking in Drosophila melanogaster; Science, Mar 10/00 287: pp. 1834 - 1837
• Siegel, J.M. (2004) Clues to the Functions of Mammalian Sleep; Nature, Oct 27/05, pp.1264-1271.

More papers on Circadian Disorders:

• Term Paper # 99495 : "Mood Disorders and Depression"
• Essay # 52330 : "Circadian Rhythms and Regulation of the Human Body"
• Term Paper # 133855 : "Disorders of Sleep"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: