Let’s say I want to boost circadian amplitude as much as I can. What light/dark schedule should I put myself on? This is a very tough question to answer experimentally, given how many possible light/dark schedules there are (infinite) and how expensive experiments like this can be (near infinite). But mathematical modeling can give us …
“If you want to become an earlier chronotype, get more zeitgeber during your phase advance region and less zeitgeber during your phase delay region.” My head is in my hands. At parties, if no one stops me, I will often rant about math’s UI/UX problem. Listen, I say. We just casually drop that sin-1(x) is …
Circadian Rhythms Have an Understandability Problem Read More »
This blog is the spiritual sequel to our last blog post on ways of measuring sleep regularity. Unlike the last one, though, which was based on an excellent review article, this post is Olivia’s off-the-cuff (and extremely wonkish) thoughts on the topic of circadian amplitude. There’s a reason for a lack of formality, though, which …
Recall, if you will, that elementary school classic, “Guess How Many Beans Are In The Jar.” Over the years, I’ve guessed at many beans in many jars, but none sticks with me like the first: Halloween, 1998. I was dressed as the Mona Lisa. The jar was filled with jelly beans. I counted all the …
Like anyone talking about anything, I tune my content to the audience. When I talk about our tech to travelers, I tell them our apps can help them get over jet lag faster. When I talk about our tech to shift workers, I highlight how we can help them sleep more and get them to …
What a Sleep and Circadian Digital Twin Can Do For You Read More »
I was reading this article on circadian variation in immune response a couple of weeks ago when I came across this quote, seemingly engineered in a lab to get my adrenaline pumping: “McKeating [says] that when she thinks back to the long line of failed vaccines in this field, she wonders whether timing may have …
What we talk about when we talk about chronomedicine Read More »
Here’s a weird thing about shift workers: Their sleep duration doesn’t always predict how sleepy they feel. Which is weird because… shouldn’t it? After all, somebody who sleeps for a longer period of time should feel less sleepy than someone who sleeps only for a short period of time, right? This paradox isn’t actually that …
Don’t use your phone before bed! Turn off overhead lights in the evening! Block blue light as you wind down! There are tons of recommendations out there for helping you get to sleep at night that deal with light and technology, and—spoiler alert—I think they’re right on the money. But missing from the standard advice …
At Arcascope, we’re focused on helping shift workers get more sleep and feel better with circadian-specific interventions. In particular, we’ve spoken to a lot of shift workers in the healthcare industry about their experiences working nights. A lot of the lessons we’ve learned are echoed in this recent survey we ran with 218 nurses who …
Running the numbers on health care shift workers Read More »
Over and over again, I’ve heard shift workers say something like the following: “I have no rhythms.” “It’s just a constant experience of bleh.” “I get off shift, and more than tired, I just feel… flat.” “Ah,” I think when I hear this. “The amplitudes of their circadian rhythms have been squashed.” To steal an …
