Biorhythm-Based Awakening Timing Modulation

Abstract-The purpose of the present study is to control human biological rhythm and life cycle by optimization of awakening timing. We developed a wearable interface for controlling awakening time named "BRAC (Biological Rhythm based Awakening timing Controller)". BRAC could estimate bio-rhythm by pulse wave from finger tip and send awake signal to user. An ordinary alarm clock operates according to set times that have to be set in advance. However, humans have a rhythm in their sleep, which affects one's sleep depth and wake-up timing. We consider the simplest way to control or reset human's biorhythm or life style is to optimize the awakening timing and the sleeping hours. We examined the relationship between controlling awakening timing based on autonomous nerve rhythm and equilibrium function. Our findings suggest indicate that the prototype "BRAC" could evaluate user's biological rhythm and awakes user at the time optimized for physical function of equilibrium

Effects of circadian rhythm phase alteration on physiological and psychological variables: Implications to pilot performance (including a partially annotated bibliography)

The effects of environmental synchronizers upon circadian rhythmic stability in man and the deleterious alterations in performance and which result from changes in this stability are points of interest in a review of selected literature published between 1972 and 1980. A total of 2,084 references relevant to pilot performance and circadian phase alteration are cited and arranged in the following categories: (1) human performance, with focus on the effects of sleep loss or disturbance and fatigue; (2) phase shift in which ground based light/dark alteration and transmeridian flight studies are discussed; (3) shiftwork; (4)internal desynchronization which includes the effect of evironmental factors on rhythmic stability, and of rhythm disturbances on sleep and psychopathology; (5) chronotherapy, the application of methods to ameliorate desynchronization symptomatology; and (6) biorythm theory, in which the birthdate based biorythm method for predicting aircraft accident susceptability is critically analyzed. Annotations are provided for most citations

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND CHILDREN'S BIORYTHMS. SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' PERCEPTION ABOUT THEIR SCHOOL TIME, AND OUT – OF SCHOOL TIME AND ITS RELATION TO SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

In recent decades, there has been a strong interest in the relation between the biorhythms and school attendance. It is a fact that school attendance, and therefore school time, can largely determine students’ daily life, their biological functions, and their learning processes. The aim of this work is to investigate the relationship between students' biorhythms and their school performance. More specifically, the research focuses on students' perceptions of their time, school and non-school, as well as, how time is associated with school attendance. More particularly, emphasis is placed on students' time in extracurricular activities and how this time relates to their performance in school life. It explores students’ perceptions of various activities they can develop during their school time, as well as the emotions they experience while participating in the school program. The research sample consists of students attending schools of the Secondary Education of the Prefecture of Kozani. Specifically, students from A’, B', C' Gymnasium and A' Lyceum participated in the research (252 students in total). A written structure questionnaire was selected as a tool for data collection, which included closed-ended questions and it was completed individually by the students. The questionnaire included 22 questions. The statistical processing of the collected data was done with the SPSS statistical program and led to the finding that students prefer to manage a part of their school time on their own and that non-school time helps them acquire new knowledge with pleasure. They believe that the lessons should be alternated with practical activities and they do not prefer the school time to last 90 minutes. Additionally, they do not think that their performance in mathematics and language is better in the first hours. The thematic axes of the questionnaire are the following: a) the time in the daily life of the students, b) the wishes of the students in relation to the school time, c) the time in the school and the daily life of the students, d) the time in the school and activities within the school. The results of the research lead to the finding that students prefer the activities they do outside of school because they are more enjoyable for them, since they have chosen them. The activities that students do outside of school come from the personal choices of students, while the activities that students have outside of school have better performance in school activities. There is a positive correlation between school performance and math and language lessons, as students believe that in the early morning hours they can perform better in math and language. Article visualizations

Features of Circadian Rhythms in Patients with Cerebrovascular Diseases

The chapter describes in detail the pathogenetic role of desynchronosis in the development of cerebrovascular diseases (CVD). The data of domestic and foreign literature on the study of desynchronosis are presented. The role of melatonin in the regulation of circadian rhythms (CR) is shown. Pathological changes in CR affect sleep disturbance, emotional and cognitive disorders. It is demonstrated the need of the further study of the prevalence and structure of desynchronosis in patients with CVD. The search of the most significant factors of desynchronosis development in patients with vascular diseases is of great scientific and practical significance. The importance of creating and introducing diagnostic and therapeutic algorithms for chronodiagnostics and chronotherapy of CVD into everyday practical activities. The effectiveness of melatonin for the normalization of sleep and CR in patients with insomnia, acute stroke, depressive disorders is shown. Complex therapy of the patients with CVD taking into account chronobiological disorders allows to eliminate the adverse effect of sleep disorders and CR on the regulation of the cardiovascular system and improve the efficiency of rehabilitation

Non-pharmaceutical interventions to optimize cancer immunotherapy

The traditional picture of cancer patients as weak individuals requiring maximum rest and protection is beginning to dissolve. Too much focus on the medical side and one’s own vulnerability and mortality might be counterproductive and not doing justice to the complexity of human nature. Unlike cytotoxic and lympho-depleting treatments, immune-engaging therapies strengthen the immune system and are typically less harmful for patients. Thus, cancer patients receiving checkpoint inhibitors are not viewed as being vulnerable per se, at least not in immunological and physical terms. This perspective article advocates a holistic approach to cancer immunotherapy, with an empowered patient in the center, focusing on personal resources and receiving domain-specific support from healthcare professionals. It summarizes recent evidence on non-pharmaceutical interventions to enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade and improve quality of life. These interventions target behavioral factors such as diet, physical activity, stress management, circadian timing of checkpoint inhibitor infusion, and waiving unnecessary co-medication curtailing immunotherapy efficacy. Non-pharmaceutical interventions are universally accessible, broadly applicable, instantly actionable, scalable, and economically sustainable, creating value for all stakeholders involved. Most importantly, this holistic framework re-emphasizes the patient as a whole and harnesses the full potential of anticancer immunity and checkpoint blockade, potentially leading to survival benefits. Digital therapeutics are proposed to accompany the patients on their mission toward change in lifestyle-related behaviors for creating optimal conditions for treatment efficacy and personal growth

Are we aiming to miss in translational autoimmunity treatments? [version 2; referees: 3 approved, 1 approved with reservations]

Autoimmunity treatments, fruitfully pioneered in mouse models, can be disappointing or result in immunosuppression and opportunistic infections in translational trials. Many possible reasons exist, but one major, overlooked reason may be the treatment timing in relation to circadian oscillations of the immune system. Mice and humans both have immunological circadian clocks and experience the same circulatory oscillations of immune cells with regards to their sleep/wake phases, but have opposite sleep/wake phases with regard to the daylight cycle. Therefore, researchers mainly study mice and potential autoimmunity treatments during the murine sleep/rest phase, which is when pro-inflammatory mediators and more adaptive immune cells are prevalent in the circulation. In translational trials, however, treatment administration happens primarily during a patient’s wake/activity phase, during the daytime, which is when more local and acute immune responses are active in the circulation. Therefore, we believe that the most opportune window for autoimmunity treatment may be missed in translational trials. Shifting the timing, and adjusting dosing to target only immune cells that are active at that time, may result in higher success with minimized immunosuppression or toxicities

Effect of Morningness-Eveningness Chronotype on Daily and Weekly Fluctuations in Aggression in Preschool Children

Background: The present study aimed at studying the morningness-eveningness chronotype (MEC) of daily and weekly biorhythm fluctuations in the aggression of preschool children. Methods: This was a causal-comparative study. The statistical population was preschool children in Tehran. One hundred children were selected through purposive sampling. They were examined at different times of day (08:00, 10:00, 13:00 and 15:00) and different days of the week (Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday). The data collection tool used was the MEC questionnaire for children, a behavioral questionnaire for preschool children and a self-report questionnaire about aggression. The data was analyzed using mixed ANOVA. Results: The results showed that the aggressive behavior of pre-school children in the educational environment varies throughout the day and week. Also, the aggressive performance of preschool children in the morning differed from that of mid-session children or evening-type children in the educational environment during the week (P<0.01). Conclusion: The results of the behavioral questionnaire showed that the effect of the group on the level of aggression was not significant, but the effect of the day of the week and time of day was significant

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 187 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in October, 1987

Chronotype preference, partial sleep deprivation, and executive functions performance throughout the wake-cycle

Sleep is vital to survival and well-being. Adequate sleep, which is conceptualized in terms of quantity and quality, is positively related to a number of cognitive functions. In terms of length, it has been recommended that individuals in late adolescence and adulthood should receive no less than eight hours of sleep. Negative effects on higher-order mental processes have been found in states of sleep deprivation. Individuals who experience total sleep deprivation show decrements in performance on tasks of executive function (i.e. sustained attention, planning, and decision making). However, the effects of partial sleep deprivation on executive functions has not been fully examined and is under-studied in the scientific literature. Furthermore, research surrounding chronotype (morning or evening preference) suggests that time of day impacts performance on cognitive tasks. The literature is incomplete regarding the effects of partial sleep deprivation and chronotype preference on executive function. The aim of the current study is to examine these variables. One hundred-five college students recruited from a university set in the Southern United States participated in this study. Sleep quality, which was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Sleep Hygiene Scale, and the Adult Sleep-Wake Scale, Chronotype, as assessed by the Morningness-Eveniningness Scale, and executive functions, as measured by the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) and the Tower of London Task (TOL) were used in this study. Self-report, paper-based measurements concerning sleep quality and morningness/eveningness preference were administered once, at the initial assessment period, and executive function performance was measured at three task administration times throughout the testing day. Group differences were assessed using MANOVA\u27s, with between-subject analyses (ANOVA\u27s) being conducted on the separate outcome variables to elucidate sleep group and chronotype preferences differences. Results indicated a significant interaction between sleep quality and morningness/eveningness preference, with good sleep quality students performing better on executive function tasks during their preferred time of day

PERIOD3 variable number tandem repeat genotype associations with performance, injury, illness and re-entrainment

Background: Circadian rhythms are internally driven biological variations that fluctuate with a period of approximately 24 hours, even in the absence of external environmental time cues. These rhythms enable organisms to synchronise their internal clock time with external environmental time. This ensures appropriate timing of biological and metabolic processes, and allows anticipation of daily changes in the environment. Circadian rhythms also play an important role in sports in terms of optimising performance time-of-day and aiding adjustment to global time zone changes. Thus, performance, which is under the control of the athlete, may be impacted by event time-of-day scheduling in the new time zone. It has previously been shown that individual sport athletes in South Africa tend to be morning-types and carry the PERIOD3 (PER3) Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) 5-repeat allele, which has been associated with a preference for mornings. The distribution of the PER3 VNTR polymorphism in combination with an individual's preference for mornings or evenings has not yet been described in team sports. Differences in the PER3 VNTR genotype between team and individual sport athletes are expected, given that individual sport athletes may be free to choose the time-of-day at which they train. In contrast, team sport athletes usually train in groups, thus these individuals may not have the flexibility to choose their preferred training times. There are notable inter-individual differences in adjustment to jet-lag after time zone changes. A possible genetic candidate that may be responsible for some of this variation is the PER3 VNTR gene. This gene consist of two alleles corresponding in size to 4-repeats (PER34) or 5-repeats (PER35). Individuals are either homozygous for the 4-repeat allele (PER⁴⁄⁴) or the 5-repeat allele (PER3⁵⁄⁵), while others are heterozygous for the PER3 gene (PER34/5). The PER3 VNTR genotype might explain individual sensitivity to bright light and has been reported to be associated with sleep pressure- an increase in the brain's pressure and need for sleep, following an extended period of awakening. Individuals homozygous for the longer variant of the gene (i.e. PER3⁵⁄⁵) experience a higher sleep pressure during extended wakefulness. The PER3⁵⁄⁵ genotype has been reported to be more sensitive to the alerting and melatonin suppression effects of blue enriched light than the PER⁴⁄⁴ genotype. Aims: Therefore, the aim of Study 1 was to compare the chronotype and PER3 VNTR genotype distribution of South African Super Rugby players to individuals of low physical activity (i.e. those who are physically active ≤2 times per week). The aim of Study 2 was to determine whether PER3 VNTR genotype might contribute to inter-individual variation in the extent to which game involvement and quality of play are affected following trans-meridian travel. Further, the aim of Study 3 was to compare the impact of time zone travel during the 2012 Super Rugby competition in South African players genotyped as PER⁴⁄⁴, PER34/5 and PER3⁵⁄⁵ on the incidence of illnesses and injuries. Lastly, the aim of Study 4 was to compare the extent to which individuals genotyped as PER⁴⁄⁴ or PER3⁵⁄⁵ respond to appropriately-timed blue light exposure in order to resynchronise their circadian rhythm, following simulated eastward travel, based on changes in dim-light melatonin onset and cortisol circadian phases