Title: Feeding Time and its Effect on Sleep Quality
Hypothesis:
I hypothesize that if mice are fed during their inactive phase in the day, then they will experience a decrease in their quality of sleep as opposed to mice that experienced no decrease in sleep quality due to an alteration in feeding time because the change in the time mice are fed will cause a phase shift in their circadian rhythm, therefore disrupting their overall sleep quality.
Introduction:
All forms of life have their distinct predictable daily schedules known as the circadian rhythm. This endogenous twenty-four hour rhythm controls the metabolic, behavioral, and biological functions of an organism’s system. In mammals, the circadian clock is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) which is a group of cells positioned on the anterior hypothalamus in the brain. A disruption in the circadian rhythms sleep/wake cycle disrupts the timing and pattern of sleep in mice and thus, alters the quality of sleep overall [1]. The quality of sleep has often been determined by the frequency of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep present in the sleep cycle, the more frequent meaning a higher quality of sleep.
Both external and internal cues that affect the mice circadian rhythm have been studied by researchers in order to ascertain a more in depth understanding as to how abnormal sleep patterns play a role in the development of chronic health problems such as heart disease and high blood pressure [2]. Based on the
These cycles are based on the approximately twenty-four-hour tau of humans and external factors, called zeitgebers. The sleep cycle affects multiple parts of a person’s day, including school or work, naps, eating, or driving. Research has found that there is an endogenous clock but that animals are also affected by external cues through free-running experiments. An experiment was done concerning circadian rhythms and their connection through metabolism. The researchers looked at multiple factors affecting sleep as a homeostatic process along with a circadian process (Albrecht 27). These factors included neurotransmitters, protein kinases, and metabolism, along with others. The way the body affects our behavior is apparent when looking at the habit that is
Humans have a natural rhythm of 25 hours of sleep and wakefulness, in order to reset this the brain plays an important role with the suprachiasmatic nucleus which is a cluster of neurons in the medial hypothalamus of the brain. The SCN
The relative amount of REM sleep in other mammals exhibits in connection with their level of development at birth also supports the idea that REM sleep must aid in development. (1) Typically, animals born relatively mature, such as dolphins, giraffes, and guinea pigs, demonstrate low-amounts of REM sleep, while animals born relatively immature, such as ferrets, armadillos, and platypuses, exhibit higher levels of REM sleep. (3) Humans fall in between the spectrum of amounts of REM sleep with platypuses having the most REM sleep and some species of dolphin and whale exhibiting none. (3)
It is no secret that, similar to other animals, sleep is one of the most important things for a human being’s overall health. According to Watson and Breedlove, there are four main biological/neurological functions of sleep: energy conservation—the body uses less energy when it is asleep through what is called slow-wave sleep (SWS) by doing things such as reducing body temperature and slowing respiration; niche adaptation—the environmental happenings to which organisms are adapted to; body restoration—it restores materials used during awake hours; and memory consolidation—SWS and REM sleep help the brain consolidate memories from the previous day (2012).
The effect of disturbing circadian rhythms are quite worry some to me. Being a college student I feel the pressure to get things done on time and I don’t get to sleep as much as I should. I can see how it affects me and I worry for those who have even more going on than I do. I think we need to make sleep a priority just like we make eating. In class Truelove told us that you can die from staying up for and extended amount of time. Which, can also happen if you go a long time without eating. It’s very important for us to take care of bodies especially while were young so we will be in better shape as we
A common sleeping disorder that disrupts the circadian rhythm is the delayed sleep phase disorder. Since this disorder is common and seen in many individuals it is important for the general public to understand the severe health effects that it can have on the body. Based off of three peer reviewed, scholarly articles: “Delayed Circadian Phase is Linked to Glutamatergic Functions in Young People with Affective Disorders: A Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study” 1, “Out of Synch with Society: An Update on Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder” 2, and “Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder Rise is Associated with Absenteeism and Impaired Functioning” 3, this disorder has been researched upon and tested to determine how it affects the body internally and
Melatonin is a regulator of sleep wake cycles in all organisms. Furthermore, it is synthesised in the pineal gland and begins as an amino acid tryptophan. This amino acid is converted to serotonin and then metabolized into melatonin by the N-acetylation of 5-HT preceded with the addition of a methyl group at the hydroxyl position of the molecule via two enzymes called hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) and N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) (Foulkes et al. 1997; Schomerus and Korf 2005). After those steps melatonin has been synthesised and will begin to affect the sleep wake cycle of the species.
Organisms, whether they happen to be nocturnal or diurnal always have a sort of involuntary or in the words or Ivan Pavlov, ‘unconditioned reflex responses’ that they use to determine when to sleep and wake. Biologists universally believe that organisms have a type of biological clock controlling their various cycles for daily activities. According to the American Heritage’s Dictionary of Student Science, 2014, the daily biological activities are referred to as circadian rhythms and are influenced by light and dark 24-hour day regular intervals. The rhythms are controlled by hormones and regulated by the brain, but can be disrupted by the alteration of daily schedules like exposure to light during night time hours. (American Heritage, 2014). Different organisms have different ways of handling their sleep-wake cycles as we will see in the analysis of cycles that are characteristic of the giraffe, the camel, and the desert snail. This paper will analyze sleep patterns of each organism, how different their sleep cycle is from that of the human cycle, whether they are nocturnal or diurnal, and whether any of them dreams.
To study how the circadian system in our body work, researchers from Dr. Herzog’s Laboratory has been using both in vitro, in vivo and behavior observing techniques. At the beginning of the talk, it is interesting to see how the behavior of the mouse changed when researcher removed the
Sleep is one of the unavoidable daily-living activities and it is one of the most important factors contributing to a person’s health. A quality sleep is essential for the physical, cognitive and psychological well-being of a person. Learning, memory processing and maintenance of the brain are among the most important functions of sleep. In addition to maintaining the brain, sleep has important roles in controlling the
The Circadian Timing System (CTS) is responsible for generation and synchronization of endogenous oscillations expressed by living beings, for most physiologic functions and behaviors, with period around 24 hours (for review see Dibner et al., 2010). Among the central structures of rodent circadian clock are hypothalamic Suprachiasmatic Nuclei (SCN) and Intergeniculate Leaflet (IGL) in lateral geniculate complex of thalamus. The former is considered the master pacemaker of circadian rhythms, regulating cyclic patterns of physiologic and hormonal activity in response to environmental cues, via a variety of outputs. The latter projects to SCN, via geniculo-hypothalamic tract (GHT), having an important modulatory role in circadian rhythm synchronization
This cycle is being controlled by 2 different systems in the body which are called circadian rhythm (process C) and sleep wake homeostasis (process C). They are closely related and provide a balance between each other. (Mastin, 2013, “The Two Process of Sleep Regulation”). Circadian rhythm is governed by circadian clock which is the key mechanism that regulates the timing of sleep in the hypothalamus. It is also regulator of feeding models, core body temperature, cell regeneration, brain wave activity and hormone activity which is organized by light dark cycle. Circadian rhythm of all animals is arranged according to the surrounding by external factors which are called Zeitgebers (In German it means time givers). Day light is the most significant Zeitgeber since humans are mostly active during the daytime. This internal clock is independent with the length of the sleep. For example even longer sleep than usual might be not enough or inefficient if it does not occur at the right time of the circadian cycle. Mastin (2013) stated that ıf sleep occurs at the right time of the circadian cycle core body temperature decreases to the minimum level around 4.30-5.00 am and melatonin hormone which is produced in the pineal gland, cause drowsiness and decrease body temperature starts to be secreted around 8.00-9.00 pm until 7.00-8.00 am (“Circadian Rhythms”). Second
Humans are the only mammals that willingly delay sleep (25 Random). When other mammals get sleep, they sleep because their body tells them too. Humans do not listen to what their body says especially regarding sleep. One in three adults do not get the recommended seven hours of sleep a night and that can be detrimental to our health. I argue that if we do not get enough sleep, our physical and mental health will be in jeopardy.
Sleep is an essential part of any person’s health, however few people seem to realize that not receiving enough sleep can double the risk of becoming obese.“The ‘epidemic’ of obesity is paralleled by a ‘silent epidemic’ of reduced sleep duration with short sleep duration linked to the increased risk of obesity both in adults and in children”(Professor Cappuio). Someone who has developed a sleeping disorder such as, sleep apnea, may not have the motivation to diet or exercise, due to daytime sleepiness. Scientists at the University of Chicago conucted a study in 1999, which restricted eleven healthy young adults to four hours of sleep for six nights. The scientist discovered that restricting individuals to this amount of sleep impaired metabolism functions and disrupted hormone levels. It was also found that the subject’s abilities to process glucose in the blood had declined, in some cases to the level of diabities. ” Not only does obesity contribute to sleep problems such as sleep apnea, but sleep problems can also contribute to obesity.”(National Sleep Foundation)
The effects of nutrition can begin before birth, with the nutrition of the mother. Under nutrition can result in negative effects of the development of the brain that can become permanent and irreversible. One example is the lack of iron, which is a necessary part of the brain’s tissue. When iron deficiency is present nerve impulses tend to move slower. “Iron deficiency…is associated with behavior changes and delayed psychomotor development” (Nutrition and Cognitive Development, 2001), as well as decrease attention span, irritability, fatigue, and difficultly with concentration. “ Anemia is one of the most prevalent nutritional disorders in the world, affecting nearly one