The sleep maths: A strong correlation between more daytime light and better night-time sleep

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 423-435
Author(s):  
MG Figueiro ◽  
C Jarboe ◽  
L Sahin

Lighting for workplaces and schools is typically specified to meet the needs of the visual system without sufficient regard to the lighting characteristics that are required by the human circadian system. In 2020, many workers and students were compelled by the COVID-19 pandemic to work and study from home, where light levels are typically even lower than those found in most schools and workplaces. Using online surveys, this study sought to quantify potential changes in daytime light exposures resulting from teleworking or self-isolating at home and how those changes might have affected self-reported sleep quality, psychological health and emotional health. The first survey was administered in early May 2020, and the second survey was administered in September 2020. In broad terms, our analysis indicates that the greater the amount of light one is exposed to during the day (either in the home or outdoors), the better the self-reported sleep outcomes. Stress and mood were also correlated with greater self-reported daytime light exposures. The results suggest that spending one to two hours outdoors or staying in a bright to very bright room indoors may improve night-time sleep. These results have important implications for daytime lighting in homes, offices and schools.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A55-A56
Author(s):  
F Martinez ◽  
C Seneviratne ◽  
A Chrimes ◽  
G Paech

Abstract Introduction Sleep is poor in intensive care units (ICU). However, there is limited research examining the causes from the patient perspective, especially in an Australian population. The current study investigated the factors that patients perceive as affecting their sleep in a major Australian tertiary ICU. Methods Patients (n=138, 51F; aged 58.1±16.8 years) completed a survey assessing sleep before and during their ICU stay, factors contributing to poor sleep, and factors that may have improved their sleep in the ICU. Night-time sound (16 nights) and light (28 nights) levels in rooms were also measured. Results Most patients reported good (38%) to very good (25%) sleep quality before their ICU stay, and poor (28%) to very poor (32%) sleep quality in the ICU. Over half (56%) reported an abnormal sleep-wake cycle and most (60%) felt as though they did not obtain sufficient sleep. Noise (54%), pain (50%) and lights (48%) were the top reasons for self-reported poor sleep. Patients felt as though their sleep would have been improved with dimmed lights (64%), a sleeping pill (57%) and closing door/blinds at night (46%). Median (IQR) overnight noise and light levels were 52.8 (51.4–54.6) dB and 39.9 (8.2–90.9) lux respectively. Discussion Of the top three factors that patients perceive to be the primary reasons for poor sleep, two are modifiable (noise and lights). Night-time sound levels exceed standard recommendations and light levels, while mostly low, were higher than indicated for a healthy sleep environment, suggesting that these could be modified to improve patients sleep.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Feldman

This paper is a contribution to the growing literature on the role of projective identification in understanding couples' dynamics. Projective identification as a defence is well suited to couples, as intimate partners provide an ideal location to deposit unwanted parts of the self. This paper illustrates how projective identification functions differently depending on the psychological health of the couple. It elucidates how healthier couples use projective identification more as a form of communication, whereas disturbed couples are inclined to employ it to invade and control the other, as captured by Meltzer's concept of "intrusive identification". These different uses of projective identification affect couples' capacities to provide what Bion called "containment". In disturbed couples, partners serve as what Meltzer termed "claustrums" whereby projections are not contained, but imprisoned or entombed in the other. Applying the concept of claustrum helps illuminate common feelings these couples express, such as feeling suffocated, stifled, trapped, held hostage, or feeling as if the relationship is killing them. Finally, this paper presents treatment challenges in working with more disturbed couples.


Author(s):  
Graham R. Martin

Night-time poses exacting problems for vision, resolution inevitably falls and colour vision is not possible as light levels decrease to those of natural night time. Furthermore, light levels are highly variable depending upon whether there is moonlight, and night length changes dramatically in the annual cycle according to latitude. Few birds exploit the resources available at night. Those that do rely upon information received from vision complemented by information from other senses (hearing, olfaction, and touch), and upon highly specialized and restricted behaviours. However, many birds occasionally exploit night-time, e.g. during migration, arriving and departing from nests, and occasional night feeding. Some seabirds dive to such depths that they experience night-time light levels when foraging. Truly nocturnal species such as owls, kiwi, and oilbirds are highly sedentary, and this is essential to allow them to interpret correctly the partial information that is available to them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1272.2-1272
Author(s):  
W. Zhou ◽  
J. Guo ◽  
R. Zhao ◽  
C. Dong ◽  
Z. Gu

Background:Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a systemic chronic inflammatory disease, which most likely occurs in young men. It mainly affects sacroiliac joints, axial skeleton, thoracic cage and seriously decreasing quality of life in AS patients[1,2]. In recent years, fatigue of AS patients has been paid more and more attention[3]. Fatigue is a complex feeling, diseased individuals describe fatigue as a sense of tiredness at rest, exhaustion with activity, lack of energy which affects daily work, inertia or lack of endurance, or as loss of vitality. It has been confirmed that fatigue is not only a symptom but may also be quantified by fatigue scores and can be modified by various measures depending on the underlying cause[4]. However, there has been no study about fatigue in AS patients in China.Objectives:This study aimed to evaluate the predictors of fatigue and the effects of fatigue on HR-QoL among patients with AS.Methods:A total of 150 AS patients were involved in the study. A series of questionnaires included: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), the 10 cm Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI), the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) and the Fatigue Severity Scale(FSS). Independent samples t-test, Mann–Whitney U-test, Chi-square analysis, Pearson /Spearman correlation and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the data.Results:The results demonstrated that 48.7% individuals with AS suffered from fatigue. Compared with AS patients without fatigue, AS patients with fatigue showed higher WHR(P<0.05), increased BASDAI (P<0.01) and poorer BASFI (P<0.05). Meanwhile, AS patients with fatigue tended to have more severe pain(P<0.05), higher degree of anxiety(P=0.001), more serious functional disability(P=0.001) and worse sleep quality(P=0.001). Binary logistic regression indicated that WHR (OR=1.78,P<0.05), BASDAI (OR=1.34,P=0.01), sleep disturbance (OR=2.35,P<0.05) were independent predictors of fatigue in AS patients. Additionally, the occurrence of fatigue significantly reduced the quality of life in AS patients both physically and psychologically.Conclusion:These findings suggested that medical personnel should pay more attention to AS patients with fatigue and take effective measures to relieve fatigue.References:[1]Law L, Beckman Rehnman J, Deminger A, Klingberg E, Jacobsson LTH, Forsblad-d’Elia H (2018) Factors related to health-related quality of life in ankylosing spondylitis, overall and stratified by sex. Arthritis research & therapy 20 (1):284. doi:10.1186/s13075-018-1784-8[2]Hanson A, Brown MA (2017) Genetics and the Causes of Ankylosing Spondylitis. Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America 43 (3):401-414. doi:10.1016/j.rdc.2017.04.006[3]Ulus Y, Akyol Y, Bilgici A, Kuru O (2019) Association of work instability with fatigue and emotional status in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: comparison with healthy controls. Clinical rheumatology 38 (4):1017-1024. doi:10.1007/s10067-018-4366-x[4]Finsterer J, Mahjoub SZ (2014) Fatigue in healthy and diseased individuals. The American journal of hospice & palliative care 31 (5):562-575. doi:10.1177/1049909113494748Acknowledgments:Thanks to all the authors for their efforts and thanks to all members of the Department of Rheumatology of Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University for their helpfulness in the acquisition of data.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun-Yi Cheng ◽  
Pi-Chu Lin ◽  
Yu-Kai Chang ◽  
Yen-Kuang Lin ◽  
Pi-Hsia Lee ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme E. Whitfield ◽  
Chris J. Williams ◽  
David A. Shapiro

This open study measured the proportion of routine referrals from primary care to a psychiatric sector team with symptoms of anxiety and/or low mood who chose to take up the option of attending a self-help room to use the CBT self-help manual Mind over mood during a 6-week waiting list period. It assessed changes in psychological health, dysfunctional attitudes and degree of hopelessness during the period of use of the self-help manual, as well as patient satisfaction with it. Twenty-two of 42 consecutive referrals attended the room (mean 3.55 sessions – SD 1.71). The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS), as well as measures of patient participation and satisfaction, were completed at the beginning and end of the 6-week period for those patients who attended the room. All three scale scores fell significantly over the study period, and the DAS and BHS scores at 6 weeks were negatively correlated with the number of sessions attended. The patients generally judged that the self-help intervention was acceptable and effective, and that their knowledge in a number of key areas had been improved. Conclusions regarding effectiveness are limited by the absence of control group data; nonetheless, this study does suggest that the provision of a self-help room containing Mind over mood is useful for patients with anxiety and low mood on a waiting list for a psychiatric outpatient assessment.


Author(s):  
David Baeza Moyano ◽  
Roberto Alonso González Lezcano

The light that enters through our eyes is not only for vision. The human circadian system responds to light differently than the visual system. The timing of each biological function in mammals is directed by the main clock located in the Supraquiasmic Nucleus, which is regulated by light. However, until now, only the interaction of light with our visual system has been taken into account when choosing the parameters of indoor lighting sources, including those in the classroom. In the publications about school lighting, the first concern was the common parameters of indoor lighting such as horizontal workplane illuminance, illuminance uniformity, and avoiding reflections on different surfaces. In this chapter, the authors show publications about new findings on the effects of light on people, studies carried out in different countries aimed at improving classroom lighting, current regulations on lighting related to classroom lighting, and new parameters that are being considered, along with those already used for new and better lighting.


2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Knoop ◽  
O Stefani ◽  
B Bueno ◽  
B Matusiak ◽  
R Hobday ◽  
...  

Light is necessary for vision; it enables us to sense and perceive our surroundings and in many direct and indirect ways, via eye and skin, affects our physiological and psychological health. The use of light in built environments has comfort, behavioural, economic and environmental consequences. Daylight has many particular benefits including excellent visual performance, permitting good eyesight, effective entrainment of the circadian system as well as a number of acute non-image forming effects and the important role of vitamin D production. Some human responses to daylight seem to be well defined whilst others require more research to be adequately understood. This paper presents an overview of current knowledge on how the characteristics of daylight play a role in fulfilling these and other functions often better than electric lighting as conventionally delivered.


Nutrients ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuck Cheng ◽  
See Loy ◽  
Yin Cheung ◽  
Shirong Cai ◽  
Marjorelee Colega ◽  
...  

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