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Green Light Exposure Can Reset Body Clock
Posted 12 May 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, May 12 – Exposure to green light can reset the body's internal clock and alter sleep-related hormonal responses, new research suggests. The finding, reported in the May 12 issue of Science Translational Medicine, stems from research conducted by a team of scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and builds on prior research about how the eye handles light exposure in ways that are unrelated to vision. So-called "non-visual responses" had previously been linked to blue light exposure, the study authors noted. In this regard, the eye's photoreceptor system located in the eye's ganglion cell layer, and distinct from the part of the eye responsible for processing sight, had been identified as a center for special cells that detect and absorb blue light, thereby triggering a shift in the viewer's internal circadian body clock. Blue light exposure had also previously ... Read more
Related support groups: Shift Work Sleep Disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Jet Lag
Shift Work Can Put a Crimp on Sleep
Posted 9 Mar 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, March 9 – To make ends meet these days, many Americans are sacrificing sleep to work night shifts or juggle two jobs. Research suggests, though, that lack of sleep can lead to memory problems, depression, cardiovascular concerns, cancer and increased risk of accidents. "In the last couple of years, I've seen more overworked patients taking on extra shifts or second jobs," Dr. Raman Malhotra, an assistant professor of neurology and director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Saint Louis University, said in a university news release. "For someone who is suffering from work-related sleep issues, changing jobs isn't always an option. Instead, we've got to offer solutions to make the best of the current situation." Malhotra offered some suggestions for people who have sleep problems because of irregular work schedules. For instance, if you work the night shift and sleep during the ... Read more
Related support groups: Shift Work Sleep Disorder
Drug Effective for Temporary Sleep Disruptions
Posted 2 Dec 2008 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Dec. 2 – The experimental drug tasimelteon helps treat temporary insomnia caused by jet lag or night shifts, according to the results of two new clinical trials. The phase II study included 39 people randomly assigned to receive either 10 milligrams, 20 mg, 50 mg or 100 mg of tasimelteon, or a placebo. They were monitored for seven nights – three at baseline, three after a five-hour advance of sleep-wake schedule with treatment before sleep, and one night after treatment. The phase III trial included 411 people who had transient insomnia induced in a sleep clinic by a five-hour advance of their sleep-wake cycle. They received either 20 mg, 50 mg, or 100 mg of tasimelteon, or a placebo, 30 minutes before bedtime. The patients in the trials were monitored to determine their sleep efficiency (amount of actual sleep during their time in bed) and sleep latency (time it took them ... Read more
Related support groups: Sleep Disorders, Insomnia, Shift Work Sleep Disorder