The Effects of Bright Light and LEET on 6-Sulphatoxymelatonin, Core Temperature, and Cognitive Performance after a 10-Hour Phase Delay.
Abstract
Circadian desynchronosis caused by shiftwork or jet lag can have detrimental effects on alertness and performance, which could impair productivity and safety (1-4). With jet lag this is ordinarily a temporary problem. However, even long-term night-shift workers rarely show complete adjustment of circadian rhythms to the reversed sleep/wake cycle (5,6). Circadian desynchronosis can also disturb sleep, which may impair subsequent performance, thereby compounding the problem (7,8). Some interventions may offset problems produced by shiftwork or jet lag, either by speeding up resynchronization to a new sleep/wake schedule, or by improving sleep, with secondary improvement of alertness and performance. Possible interventions include sleeping medications, application of bright light, and administration of melatonin. Sleeping medications can increase the duration of daytime sleep in night-shift workers or nighttime sleep in jet-lagged individuals (9). However, sedative hypnotics are not generally recommended for chronic usage (10), because these agents become ineffective and individuals may become dependent on them. Additionally, since sedatives are, not surprisingly, associated with a decrement in performance and alertness for some time after ingestion (11), these agents have drawbacks in environments where personnel are required to respond quickly to emergency conditions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA298083
Entities
People
- Daniel F. Kripke
- David Ryman
- Roza Hayduk
- Tamsin Kelly
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center