The Consequences of Disrupting Biological Rhythms. Essay Plan

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Consequences of Disrupting Biological Rhythms Essay Plan

  1. Describe in detail shift work and shift lag. Boivin found that night workers often experience a Circadian “trough” of decreased alertness during their shifts, this is between midnight, when Cortisol levels are lowest and 4am when core body temperature is at its lowest. Tilley and Wilson- daytime sleep is typically between one and two hours shorter than a nocturnal sleep period, and REM is particularly affected. Knutsson found individuals who worked shifts for more than 15 years were three times more likely to develop heart disease than non-shift workers. This could be because of direct effects of desynchronisation or indirect effects such as sleep disruption.
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  1. Outline briefly jet travel and jet lag. Recht- looked at US baseball results over a three year period. Teams that travelled from east to west won 44% of their games, unlike when travelling from west to east who only won 37%. The conclusion he drew from why this occurred is because east to west is phase delay so they wake up later then they are used to. Whereas, travelling from west to east is phase advance so they have to wake up and earlier then they are used to.

  1. Critical Point 1: The effects described about ...

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