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Olivera A, Estevan I, Tassino B, Rossel C, Silva A. Epidemiology of sleep patterns and circadian typology in uruguayan children: The contribution of school shifts. Sleep Med X 2024; 7:100099. [PMID: 38234312 PMCID: PMC10792258 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleepx.2023.100099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Healthy sleep is defined by the combination of adequate duration, good quality, and regular timing. In children, sleep thus depends on the interplay of individual, parental, organizational, community, and social variables, but only a few studies have addressed this issue in a comprehensive way nationwide. Using the Uruguayan nationally representative survey (Nutrition, Child Development, and Health Survey, Encuesta de Nutrición, Desarrollo Infantil y Salud, ENDIS), we present the first epidemiological characterization of chronobiological and sleep parameters in Latin American children. On average, Uruguayan urban children (n = 2437; 5-10-years old) showed quite late chronotypes (MSFsc = 03:53 ± 1:07), moderate misalignment (SJL = 1.0 ± 0.9 h), and adequate sleep duration (SDweek = 9.9 ± 1.0 h). Further, we show the substantial influence of school shift schedules on children's circadian typology and sleep patterns. Our results show that children attending the morning school shift have a higher risk of sleep problems than afternoon-school shift ones. The chronotype and sleep were earlier in morning-school shift children than in children attending the afternoon school shift. However, morning-school shift children had stronger misalignment, shorter sleep on school days, and a higher risk of chronic sleep deficit and non-healthy circadian misalignment (even worse in late chronotypes) than afternoon-shift children. This evidence points to the need of evaluating policies to reorganize school start times to prevent the negative effects that early schooling seems to have on children's sleep health, which has been neglected so far.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrés Olivera
- Grupo Cronobiología, Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica, Universidad de la República, Jackson 1301, 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Departamento de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Católica del Uruguay, 8 de octubre 2768, 11600, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Ignacio Estevan
- Grupo Cronobiología, Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica, Universidad de la República, Jackson 1301, 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Programa de Neuropsicología y Neurobiología, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de la República, Tristán Narvaja 1674, 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Bettina Tassino
- Grupo Cronobiología, Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica, Universidad de la República, Jackson 1301, 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Sección Etología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá 4225, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Cecilia Rossel
- Departamento de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Católica del Uruguay, 8 de octubre 2768, 11600, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Ana Silva
- Grupo Cronobiología, Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica, Universidad de la República, Jackson 1301, 11200, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá 4225, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay
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Tassino B, Silva A. Environmental, social, and behavioral challenges of the human circadian clock in real-life conditions. Front Physiol 2024; 15:1347377. [PMID: 38516211 PMCID: PMC10954801 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1347377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Urban environments, in which ambient light has become a less-reliable entrainer, are challenging for the biological clock to maintain performance. As a consequence, human circadian rhythms are less robust and more variable among individuals. Assessing the individual phase of entrainment, as well as its plastic shifts in response to disturbances of the physical and social environment, is a way to measure circadian disruption. However, this is still difficult to address in real-life scenarios in which several factors modulate the circadian phase not always in a concerted manner. In this perspective, we present the contribution of two real-life situations, in which the circadian system is challenged by important alterations in entraining signals: 1) a trip to the Antarctic summer (socio-environmental challenge), and 2) dancers trained in morning/night shifts (socio-behavioral challenge). Both natural chronobiological experiments are helpful in exploring the functioning and plasticity of the circadian clock and allow for considering individual characteristics and history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bettina Tassino
- Sección Etología, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Grupo de Investigación en Cronobiología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Ana Silva
- Grupo de Investigación en Cronobiología, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
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Spitschan M, Joyce DS. Human-Centric Lighting Research and Policy in the Melanopsin Age. POLICY INSIGHTS FROM THE BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES 2023; 10:237-246. [PMID: 38919981 PMCID: PMC7615961 DOI: 10.1177/23727322231196896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Beyond visual function, specialized light-sensitive retinal circuits involving the photopigment melanopsin drive critical aspects of human physiology and behavior, including sleep-wake rhythms, hormone production, mood, and cognition. Fundamental discoveries of visual neurobiology dating back to the 1990s have given rise to strong interest from the lighting industry in optimizing lighting to benefit health. Consequently, evidence-based recommendations, regulations, and policies need to translate current knowledge of neurobiology into practice. Here, reviewing recent advances in understanding of NIF circuits in humans leads to proposed strategies to optimize electric lighting. Highlighted knowledge gaps must be addressed urgently, as well as the challenge of developing personalized, adaptive NIF lighting interventions accounting for complex individual differences in physiology, behavior, and environment. Finally, lighting equity issues appear in the context of marginalized groups, who have traditionally been underserved in research on both fundamental visual processes and applied lighting. Biologically optimal light is a fundamental environmental right.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Spitschan
- TUM School of Medicine & Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS), Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Max Planck Research Group Translational Sensory & Circadian Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniel S. Joyce
- Centre for Health Research, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
- School of Psychology and Wellbeing, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA
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Castillo J, Tonon AC, Hidalgo MP, Silva A, Tassino B. Individual light history matters to deal with the Antarctic summer. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12081. [PMID: 37495664 PMCID: PMC10372057 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39315-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The effect of light, main zeitgeber of the circadian system, depends on the time of day it is received. A brief trip to the Antarctic summer (ANT) allowed us to explore the impact of a sudden and synchronized increase in light exposure on activity-rest rhythms and sleep patterns of 11 Uruguayan university students, and to assess the significance of light history in determining individual circadian phase shift. Measurements collected in the peri-equinox in Montevideo, Uruguay (baseline situation, MVD) and in ANT, included sleep logs, actigraphy, and salivary melatonin to determine dim-light melatonin onset (DLMO), the most reliable marker of circadian phase. The increase in light exposure in ANT with respect to MVD (affecting both light-sensitive windows with opposite effects on the circadian phase) resulted in no net change in DLMO among participants as some participants advanced their DLMO and some others delayed it. The ultimate cause of each participant's distinctive circadian phase shift relied on the unique change in light exposure each individual was subjected to between their MVD and ANT. This study shows an association between the individual light history and the circadian phase shift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julieta Castillo
- Grupo Cronobiología, Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - André C Tonon
- Laboratório de Cronobiologia e Sono, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - María Paz Hidalgo
- Laboratório de Cronobiologia e Sono, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Ana Silva
- Grupo Cronobiología, Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Bettina Tassino
- Grupo Cronobiología, Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.
- Sección Etología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá 4225, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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