[ad_1]
Night birds – people who go to bed and wake up later – have fundamental differences in how their brains work compared to the larks in the morning, which can be a constraint on their normal workday, a study found. .
Researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK found that resting brain connectivity in most areas of the brain related to the maintenance of consciousness was dictated by an internal clock.
According to the study published in the journal SLEEP, this lower brain connectivity was badociated with less attention, slower reactions and increased sleepiness throughout the day.
Researchers, including those at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom and the University of Campinas in Brazil, have already found adverse health consequences for night workers because of the constant disruption of sleep and of the biological clock.
However, the disruption may also be caused by the requirement to incorporate it into a 9 to 5 day work day in the company if these schedules do not match your natural biological rhythms, they said.
Since about 40 to 50% of the population said they would prefer to sit down later and get up after 8:20, the researchers say that there is still a lot to do to explore the negative implications for this. group.
"A very large number of people struggle to offer their best performance during work or clbad time, for which they are not naturally fit," said Elise Facer-Childs of the University of Birmingham.
"It is essential to better understand these issues in order to minimize health risks in society and maximize productivity," said Facer-Childs.
The researchers studied resting brain function and established a link with the cognitive abilities of 38 individuals identified as night owls or larksets with the help of physiological rhythms (melatonin and cortisol). continuous sleep / wake monitoring and questionnaires.
The volunteers underwent MRI exams, followed by a series of tasks. The test sessions take place at different times of the day, from 8 am to 8 pm
They were also asked to report their level of drowsiness.
Volunteers identified as morning larks reported having as little sleep as possible and having their fastest reaction time during early morning testing, which was significantly higher than that of night owls.
However, night owls were less sleepy and had their fastest reaction time at 8 pm, although this was not significantly greater than larks, pointing out that night owls are the most disadvantaged in the morning.
Cerebral connectivity in regions predicting better performance and reduced sleepiness was significantly higher in larks at all times, suggesting that nocturnal cerebral connectivity at rest is impaired throughout the day (8h). 20h).
"This gap between biological time and a person's social time – what most of us have experienced in the form of jet lag – is a common problem for night owls who try to follow a day. of normal work, "said Facer-Childs, now based at the Monash Institute for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience in Australia.
"Our study is the first to show a potential intrinsic neural mechanism behind why night owls can be cognitively at a disadvantage when they are forced to adapt to these constraints," said Facer-Childs. .
Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter
First published: February 16, 2019 16:47 IST
[ad_2]
Source link
