Night-shift work in antarctica: Sleep characteristics and bright light treatment

Changes in sleep parameters during and after night-shift and the effects of bright white (2500–3000 1x) and dim red (>500 1x) light treatment on re adaptation after night-shift during winter were studied in 14 men on the British Antarctic Survey Base of Halley (75° south). Subjects kept daily sle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physiology & Behavior
Main Authors: Ross, Jonathan K., Arendt, Josephine, Horne, Jim, Haston, Wendy
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Elsevier 1995
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Online Access:http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/515790/
https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(95)00018-E
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Summary:Changes in sleep parameters during and after night-shift and the effects of bright white (2500–3000 1x) and dim red (>500 1x) light treatment on re adaptation after night-shift during winter were studied in 14 men on the British Antarctic Survey Base of Halley (75° south). Subjects kept daily sleep diaries and mood ratings from one week before to three weeks after night-shift and received either full-spectrum white or dim red light treatment from 1100 to 1300 h daily during the first week after night-shift. Plasma melatonin (for 24 h at the end of weeks 1, 2 and 4), and urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s, for 48 h weekly) were measured. A significant (MANOVA; p < 0.05) improvement in sleep was seen during night shift (latency and duration) and with bright light treatment (latency). Melatonin and aMT6s rhythms delayed by 7–8 h during night-shift. The white light group readapted slowly, apparently by phase delay, as assessed by aMT6s measurement. The red light group readapted slightly, but significantly (ANOVA, p < 0.01) faster than the white light group