Dissertation
Sleep, Autonomic Nervous System, and Neurobehavioral Outcomes
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2017
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/117561
Abstract
Shift work is common in today’s society, with millions of Americans employed on full-time shift work schedules. Though shift work is critical to sustaining around-the-clock operations, shift work has significant negative effects on sleep, cognitive performance, and cardiovascular health associated with sleep loss and circadian misalignment. In Chapter 1, we assessed the effects of circadian misalignment and restricted sleep opportunity on sleep duration and fatigue levels in two simulated Navy watch schedules. Findings suggested that the two Navy shift work schedules were associated with cumulative sleep loss and a build-up of psychomotor vigilance impairment across days. In Chapter 2, we investigated the effects of night shift work on cardiac autonomic measures, markers of cardiovascular disease and mortality. We accounted for common confounds of autonomic activity including posture, physical activity, sleep/wake state, and the use of stimulants, such as caffeine. Our findings revealed complex interactions of time of day, sleep/wake state, and physical activity on cardiac autonomic activity. Finally, given that caffeine is often used to mitigate the effects of fatigue due to sleep loss, we investigated the effect of sleep deprivation and caffeine intake on cardiac autonomic activity in Chapter 3. In the absence of sleep deprivation, our findings suggested an increase in vagal tone as a result of caffeine ingestion. In the presence of sleep deprivation, caffeine intake did not produce substantial disturbances in cardiac autonomic activity. However, future work is needed to determine whether chronic sleep loss and/or chronic caffeine-use may potentiate long-term effects on autonomic activity and cardiovascular health.
Our controlled laboratory conditions standardized or eliminated potential confounds in the measurement of sleep and performance in Navy shift work settings, such as weather conditions, variable workload, and hostile encounters. Additionally, we accounted for common confounds of autonomic activity in our studies investigating the effects of circadian misalignment, sleep loss, and caffeine on autonomic markers.
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Details
- Title
- Sleep, Autonomic Nervous System, and Neurobehavioral Outcomes
- Creators
- Elena Skornyakov
- Contributors
- Hans P. A. Van Dongen (Advisor)Hans P. A. Van Dongen (Committee Member)Ilia Karatsoreos (Committee Member)Matthew E. Layton (Committee Member)John Hinson (Committee Member)Nita L. Shattuck (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Program in Neuroscience
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 134
- Identifiers
- 99900581627401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation