From Earth and Beyond

Sleep is an extremely important part of our life. Humans spend approximately a third of their lives sleeping. There are many theories which attempt to define why sleep is so important, but we have yet to find an exact answer. Without even looking at the research, one can simply feel how important it is to sleep. Sleep deprivation has various levels, but the reality is that no matter how sleep deprived you are, your body reacts differently to situations. It doesn’t matter if they are small decisions or drastically important decisions, sleep –or the lack of- can deeply influence your response. Not getting the adequate sleep one requires can make us feel like we are on pilot mode, like we are not completely in control; our body is just doing what it feels it has to. This may be dangerous in certain situations, especially to those in certain occupations such as firefighters, police officers, physicians, and astronauts. Before we go on, it is important to know the background behind sleep and its biological source.

What can be done in situations where your environment is not in synchrony with your circadian rhythm? The answer to this question is important for people who work night shifts and who are required to stay awake and alert during the night. It would also help individuals who for a certain reason are not exposed to the proper external stimuli –such as sunlight- which is important in maintaining synchrony. Astronauts are affected by this, due to their long periods living in the darkness of space. Much research has gone into facilitating the sleep patterns and maintaining the psychological health of astronauts. Their work demands great focus and precision, which are two factors affected by sleep. By using the known information about sleep and the circadian rhythm of humans, why not attempt to predict the wakeful and most alert periods to guarantee  proper work? That is exactly what Elizabeth Klerman, HMS associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital has done. “Elizabeth Klerman uses finely designed mathematical models to predict performance and alertness in flight control staff”. Dougherty (HMS) With her research in lighting and its influence on sleep, she has successfully inverted many astronauts’ physiological schedules to prepare them for specific sleep-wake schedules in space. Their research has declared the eye as a very important contributor and blue light as a more influential color. Her collection of information is very interesting and helpful to many. Her findings also apply to shift workers. Many have to work during the night and sleep during the day, completely reversing their circadian rhythm, but it can be accomplished. There are certain techniques which can be used, such as light therapy.

 

Sleep is necessary and it is through our 24 hour day span that our internal body determines when it occurs. External stimuli strongly influences as well, but light is the biggest contributor. We need to maintain our health and by keeping up with sleep we will also be helping our decision making process. It seems quite easy to state "keep up with sleep", but when transferred to the real world it is difficult to accomplish. There are many expectations and they sometimes can't all be done before the day is over. That is when we begin to sleep late and therefore throw off our circadian rhythm. But we are creatures who adapt fairly easily and we can readjust the rhythm a bit. It is in drastic situations when resetting the circadian rhythm would be absolutely necessary.