Dangers of Chronic Circadian Misalignment
On the 16th of April, Dr. Dan Cavanaugh of Loyola University Chicago’s Biology Department presented the result of his research on chronic circadian misalignment of Drosophila and related his findings to the dangers of accumulated sleep debt, especially in shift workers and university students. He did so by explaining how this information was discovered from studying sleep cycles in Drosophila. During his presentation, Dr. Cavanaugh explained how while both humans and fruit flies do not have perfect 24-hour sleep schedules, a regular sleeping pattern is followed by both species and loses its regularity when disrupted by extended wake periods and/or light exposure. He also related the sleep schedules of travelers with jetlag to that of students based on the common sleep and wake times of university students and explained how the light exposure in major cities is sufficient to throw off the sleep schedules of individuals (or at least allows individuals to customize them).
Humans without a regular sleep schedule who continuously do not get enough rest at night are more likely to make mistakes or overlook errors in their places of work. The article titled “Night Shift Workers Are At An increased Risk For Car Crashes, Even During Daytime Commute” by Justin Caba for Medical Daily confirms Dr. Cavanaugh’s findings when mentioning the hazardous nature of drowsy driving to both the driver and other drivers on the road. The study in this article observed the driving habits of 16 sleep-deprived participants and their propensities towards crashing. A marked increase was observed and reported.
This information is important to note as individuals select what careers to pursue. Self-care and adequate sleep is vital not only for the health of the individual but also for the health of those around them.
Works Cited
C. Boomgarden, Alex & D. Sagewalker, Gabriel & C. Shah, Aashaka & D. Haider, Sarah & Patel, Pramathini & E. Wheeler, Heather & Dubowy, Christine & J. Cavanaugh, Daniel. (2019). Chronic circadian misalignment results in reduced longevity and large-scale changes in gene expression in Drosophila. BMC Genomics. 20. 14. 10.1186/s12864-018-5401-7.
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