Bright Light Therapy’s Effect on Night Shift Health Care Workers Who Suffer from Light Induced Misalignment of Circadian Rhythms

Authors

  • Mackenzie Peed Etowah High School
  • John Murnan Etowah High School

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i1.1325

Keywords:

circadian misalignment, night shift worker, bright light therapy

Abstract

Modern-day society is based on a high pace lifestyle that people are constantly attempting to keep up with. The invention of the light completely changed society, allowing people to work outside of daylight hours. As countries become more and more industrialized, the need for 24/7 productivity becomes more and more common. From transportation to mining to medicine, individuals willing to work unconventional hours are necessary for the sustainability of the industry. This group of people, working outside “normal” work hours such as between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. or shifts longer than eight hours, are known as shift workers. They make up about 26.5 million people in the employed population in the United States and about 100 million around the world (Moore-Ede & Platika, 2018). Shift work affects a person’s circadian rhythm, causing issues. “Circadian rhythm mainly controls the daily wake and sleep cycle and regulates physiological processes including hormone secretion, body temperature, feeding behavior, cell cycle progression, and drug, glucose, and xenobiotic metabolism” (Khan et al., 2018, p.2). This circadian rhythm is controlled by the circadian clock and is regulated through clock genes. Light exposure greatly influences circadian rhythms and specifically affects the release of the hormone melatonin which activates specific receptors MTI and MT2 that mediate sleep-promoting effects.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References or Bibliography

Baron, K. G., & Reid, K. (2014). International review of psychiatry [Circadian misalignment and health]. International Review of Psychiatry, 26(2), 139-154.

https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2014.911149

Boyce, P.1,2 Hopwood, M. (2013). Manipulating melatonin in managing mood. Acta

Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 128, 16-23. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12175

Han-Xue, L. (2019). The role of circadian clock genes in tumors. OncoTargets & Therapy, 12,

-3660. https://doi.org/10.2147/OTT.S203144

Khan, S., Hou, H., Duan, P., & Yao, L. (2018). Shift work-mediated disruptions of circadian rhythms and sleep homeostasis cause serious health problems. International Journal of

Genomics, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/8576890

Lerman, S., Eskin, E., Flower, D., George, E., Gerson, B., Hartenbaum, N., . . . Moore-Ede, M. (2012). Fatigue risk management in the workplace. Journal of Occupational &

Environmental Medicine, 54(2), 231-258.

https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e318247a3b0

Lewy, A. (2010). Clinical implications of the melatonin phase response curve. The Journal of

Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 95(7), 3158-3160.

https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2010-1031

Moore-Ede, M., & Platika, D. (n.d.). Health risks of light at night. A Circadian White Paper, 1-

Retrieved from

https://circadianlight.com/images/pdfs/White%20Paper/CL_HealthRiskWhite.pdf

Shanahan, T., & Zeitzer, J. (1997). Resetting the melatonin rhythm with light in humans. Journal of Biological Rhythms, 12(2), 556-566. Retrieved from Complementary Index database.

(Accession No. 9712096420)

Smith, M., Fogg, L., & Eastman, C. (2009). Practical interventions to promote circadian adaptation to permanent night shift work: Study 4. Journal of Biological Rhythms, 24, 161-172. https://doi.org/10.1177/0748730409332068.

Published

03-31-2021

How to Cite

Peed, M., & Murnan, J. (2021). Bright Light Therapy’s Effect on Night Shift Health Care Workers Who Suffer from Light Induced Misalignment of Circadian Rhythms. Journal of Student Research, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i1.1325

Issue

Section

AP Capstone™ Research