Disrupting biological rhythms
- Created by: Hannah Jeffery
- Created on: 08-02-15 08:51
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- Disrupting biological rhythms
- one in five Americans are one some form of shift work
- coren 1996
- making decisions or operating machinery at times when there internal body clock is out of synchronisation
- affects performance, frequent reports of fatigue, depression and illness
- melatoin levels increase, potential for disastrous accidents
- engineers at Chernobyl explosion at the nuclear plant were working nights
- 4000 will die from secondary affects
- engineers at Chernobyl explosion at the nuclear plant were working nights
- technicians working on the challenger space shuttle working 10-12 hour night shifts for previous took weeks
- affect their judgement and led to its disappearance
- additional factor is that sleep is poor
- try and sleep during the day when sun light increases serotonin
- Tilley and Wilkinson found two hours less
- natural desire to take part in social and family activities
- leading to sleep deprivation
- carcinogenic to humans
- Knutsson et al
- people who worked shifts for more than 15 years were three times more likely to develop heart disease than non-shift workers
- try and sleep during the day when sun light increases serotonin
- most lorry accidents occur between 4am and 7am
- cortisol levels lowest in the middle of the night when body temp is lowest
- boivin et al
- cortisol levels lowest in the middle of the night when body temp is lowest
- approaches to coping with shift work
- traditionally at Utah backwards rotating shift
- seven days on each rotation
- workers had high stress levels, sleep deprivation and health problems
- reduced work productivity
- coleman et al introduced 'forwards' shift rotation
- 21 days on each rotation
- takes 7 days to adjust
- shifts rotate forward from day to afternoon to night because circadian rhythms adjust better when moving ahead than back.
- Gordon et al used the forward rotation on Philadelphia police officers
- 30% reduction of officers sleeping on the job
- 40% reduction of accidents on the job
- Gordon et al used the forward rotation on Philadelphia police officers
- 21 days on each rotation
- rest period of at least 24 hours between each shift
- Provide time off at "socially advantageous" times like weekends whenever possible
- Inform shiftworkers of their work schedules well ahead of time so they and their families and friends can plan activities
- Pay attention to general physical fitness and good health habits
- sack et al
- planned napping during shift work reduced tiredness and improved performance
- not popular with employers and especially not popular with employees
- planned napping during shift work reduced tiredness and improved performance
- maximum sleep in the day
- bedroom must be quiet and dark as possible
- use of artificial light
- Boivin found that it can reset the endogenous pacemaker
- study exposed nurse shift worker to artificial light
- traditionally at Utah backwards rotating shift
- shift workers are 60% more likely to get divorced
- Solomon
- Jet lag
- example of biological rhythms being rapidly disrupted
- jet lag is worse west to east (phase advance)
- coren
- recht
- looked at us baseball teams and how their game success was effected by jet lag
- three year period
- teams traveling east to west won 44% of games
- teams traveling west to east won 37% of games
- difference due to demand on body clock
- easier to stay up later than go to bed earlier
- difference due to demand on body clock
- factors that affect severity
- direction of travel
- number of time zones crossed
- individual differences
- characteristics known as 'phase tolerance'
- reinberg et al found that they can cope better with shift work/ jet travel
- characteristics known as 'phase tolerance'
- decreases with age
- sack et al
- Coren's technique to reducing jet lag
- sleep well before the flight
- adjust your flight behaviour in anticipation of the time zone
- avoid caffeine and alcohol
- go out into the sunlight as soon as possible
- sunlight most effective to resynchronise your body clock
- immediately adjust to local zeitgebers
- melatonin tablets three days before travel and five days after arrival
- Beaumont et al
- reductionist
- may be due to long hours of travel, stress, annoyance caused by other passengers and low oxygen cabin air
- real life application
- social cues can affect biological rhythms
- way of coping with jet lag is to eat and sleep at the right time
- fuller et al
- fasting to eat and the right times helps to entrain biological rhythms
- social cues can affect biological rhythms
- one in five Americans are one some form of shift work
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