After 30, without proper maintenance, bones, muscles and joints weaken and deteriorate. The age of 50 acts as a cutoff. After that, 50 per cent of men and women experience pain. It may be present occasionally or be constant and nagging, interfering with their daily activities. Incapacitating, long-lasting, daily pain is more likely if other lifestyle diseases, worries or depression are also present.

 Washington [US], October 17 (ANI): The findings of recent research suggest that certain hospital room features, such as having a window view and distance from a nursing station, may influence clinical outcomes after undergoing high-risk operations.

The findings were presented at the Scientific Forum of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2022.

Each year, about USD 50 billion is spent on the construction of healthcare facilities in the United States. Architecture and interior design can enhance patient care and outcomes. A seminal comparative study published in Science in 1984 revealed that having a window view may influence recovery from surgery, and additional research has found that severely ill patients who are assigned to ICU rooms that are not well visualized by the medical staff may experience worse outcomes.

However, little research has investigated how room features such as single versus double occupancy, distance from a nursing station, and a window view may impact clinical outcomes. Researchers at the University of Michigan sought to understand whether certain hospital room features impact mortality and length of stay after surgery.

“We were fascinated to see from a previous study that mortality was different in rooms that were in the line of sight of a nurse’s station. Nurses could more readily assess the patient’s condition and intervene more quickly in severe events. We wanted to see how this finding would play out at our institution, specifically in a surgical population,” said study coauthor Mitchell J. Mead, a health and design scholar at the University of Michigan.

He added, “One of the next big steps for health care design is to understand these pathways of causation that can lead to different clinical outcomes in patients staying in hospital rooms with different features.”

The analysis for this single-site study involved 3,964 patients who underwent 13 high-risk surgical procedures (including colectomy, pancreatectomy, and kidney transplant) at the University of Michigan Hospital between 2016 and 2019. The patients were admitted to rooms on two hospital floors.

Patient rooms were coded based on their features–window or no window, single occupancy, double occupancy, distance to the nursing station, and line of sight to clinicians. Patient encounters were linked by room number to identify clinical outcomes, including mortality and length of stay, related to room design.

Key findings

Mortality rates for high-risk procedures varied across room design features and room types.

Room features that influenced clinical outcomes after surgery included distance from a nursing station, single room occupancy, and having a direct line of sight where clinicians can see into the room.

After adjusting for patient comorbidities and the complexity of the operation, mortality rates were 20 per cent higher (odds ratio 1.2) if patients were admitted to a hospital room without a window than if they were put in a room with a window.

For patients staying in a room without a window, 30-day mortality rates were 10 per cent higher (odds ratio 1.1).

Though mortality rates varied across room design, mortality rates did not vary by room type after accounting for the length of stay, suggesting that length of stay does not account for differences in mortality.

“This investigation provided evidence that patients had differential outcomes across room design features, when accounting for clinical risk, and warrants further investigation for how hospital design may be influencing outcomes,” Mr Mead said.

When the authors looked at different rooms based on the favourable design features, it became clear that the sicker patients were more likely to get single rooms, closer to a nursing station and within direct line of sight, and a window view, added study coauthor Andrew M. Ibrahim, MD, MSc, assistant professor of surgery, architecture, and urban planning at the University of Michigan and co-director of the Center for Outcomes and Policy.

Dr Ibrahim noted that this study is just one example illustrating the often-overlooked relationship between hospital design and patient care. Investing in research to figure out what design features work best may be one key factor in improving patient outcomes. “I think we can get a much better return on what we build and hopefully design safer healthier hospitals,” he said.

Future studies should investigate these outcomes at multiple hospitals to find out if the results are generalizable, the authors suggest. They are in the process of replicating a similar study across Michigan Medicine and hope to recruit collaborators across other hospital systems.

In addition, the researchers hope to expand their study to include other metrics like the use of pain medication and patient satisfaction across these room types.

“The common question we get asked is, do you want us to rebuild our hospitals? Of course, that is not practical. But we do recognize clear patterns where certain room types have better outcomes after surgery,” Dr Ibrahim said. “We can start to prioritize the sickest patients there. Just the way we have developed precision health models for getting the right care to the patient, there may be a corollary for the right room for the right patient and procedure to optimize outcomes collectively.” (ANI)

 PTI

 

New Delhi, October 16

The government’s Covid vaccination programme is in its final leg with the Health Ministry deciding against procuring more vaccines as of now and surrendering Rs 4,237 crore, or nearly 85 per cent of the 2022-23 budget allocation for inoculation purposes, to the Finance Ministry.

Official sources told PTI that more than 1.8 crore doses are still available with the governments at the Centre and in states and the stock is sufficient to continue the vaccination drive for around six months, given the low uptake of vaccines among people due to declining Covid case burden.

Even if the government’s stock gets exhausted, Covid vaccines will be available in the market.

“Any decision on whether to procure Covid vaccine doses through the government channel or get (fresh) budget allocations for the purpose after six months will depend on the coronavirus situation prevailing in the country at that time,” an official source told PTI.

As part of the nationwide vaccination drive which began on January 16 last year, the Government of India has been supporting states and Union territories by providing them COVID-19 vaccines free of cost.

Since the Covid cases have been low, a sense of complacency has grown among people and there has not been much demand of vaccines even though the government conducted a 75-day drive—‘Covid Vaccination Amrit Mahotsava’—to administer booster doses to all adults free of cost.

“Considering this and the vaccines in the stockpile nearing their expiry date, the decision has been taken not to procure any more vaccines for now. Also, the Union Health Ministry has surrendered to the Finance Ministry the balance of Rs 4,237.14 crore from its 2022-23 budget allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for inoculation purposes,” the source said.

The cumulative Covid vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 219.32 crore, according to provisional reports till 7 am on Sunday.

Official sources said 98 per cent of India’s adult population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 92 per cent have been fully vaccinated.

Besides, 83.7 per cent of adolescents aged 15 to 18 years have been vaccinated with the first dose since the vaccination for this age group began on January 3, while 72 per cent have got both the first and second doses.

In the age-group of 12-14 years, 87.3 per cent have been administered the first dose while 68.1 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Of the total eligible target population of 18 years and above, a little over 27 per cent have been administered precaution doses so far.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2 last year.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on March 1 last year for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions.

Vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years began on April 1 last year. The government then decided to expand the ambit of the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years to be inoculated against Covid from May 1 last year.

Inoculation of adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years commenced on January 3.

India began administering precaution doses of vaccines to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10.

The country began inoculating children aged 12-14 from March 16 and also removed the comorbidity clause making all people aged above 60 eligible for the precaution dose of Covid vaccine.

India on April 10 began administering precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines to all aged above 18 years.

The cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country crossed the 100-crore mark on October 21 last year and 150 crore on January 7 this year. The total doses administered in the country surpassed the 200-crore mark on July 17.

London, October 14

A new study headed by UCL academics revealed that people living with dementia who suffer from anxiety or despair may benefit from talking therapies provided on the NHS.

Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are very common in people with dementia, and previous studies estimate that 38% of people with mild dementia are affected by the conditions.

However, the new study, published in eClinicalMedicine, is the first to assess whether talking therapies that are routinely delivered within healthcare settings might be helpful to relieve symptoms.

Researchers examined data from 2,515,402 people, who had clinically significant anxiety or depression and completed a course of treatment via the national 'Improving Access to Psychological Therapies' (IAPT) service in England between 2012 and 2019.

IAPT is a free NHS service and offers evidence-based therapies for treating anxiety and depression, including CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), counselling and guided self-help, with sessions delivered either face-to-face individually, in groups, or online.

To be counted in the study, participants had to have either: Clinical levels of depressive symptoms as measured using a standard questionnaire* which considers factors such as a lack of interest in doing things, issues with sleep, and feelings of low mood.

Clinical levels of anxiety based on a standard measure** which asks patients questions about how much they worry or have trouble relaxing.

To examine outcomes for people living with dementia, the researchers looked at all those who had a dementia diagnosis before starting IAPT treatment -- which was 1,549 people.

They also used a control group of 1,329 people to assess whether therapy outcomes for those living with dementia differed from those without dementia, by selecting a group of people from the full dataset who were similar to the people with dementia in terms of age, gender, depression and anxiety severity when starting treatment.

The researchers found that among people with dementia, the treatment proved to be clinically beneficial and 63% of them saw a reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety, following IAPT. Meanwhile, approximately 40% recovered completely.

Comparatively, in the control group, 70% of participants saw an improvement in symptoms and 47% recovered.

Lead author, PhD candidate Georgia Bell (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences), said: "Anxiety and depression are very common in people with dementia. They are extremely debilitating and associated with worse outcomes for both the person with dementia and their carers.

"This is the largest ever study to investigate outcomes of psychological therapies in people living with dementia. Our findings suggest that while people with dementia are less likely to improve or recover than those without dementia, psychological therapies offered in primary care mental health services can be beneficial for them.

"Consequently, our findings support the use of IAPT to treat anxiety and depression in people with dementia. We hope this study will have implications for encouraging referrals and adaptations to increase access and enhance outcomes for people living with dementia." Previously, there was limited evidence that talking therapies were adequately effective for people with dementia, but a review of evidence led by UCL researchers confirmed their efficacy earlier this year.*** This latest study adds to that, by confirming that NHS treatment offerings can confer such a benefit.

The study was funded by the Alzheimer's Society and Wellcome.

Dr Richard Oakley, Associate Director of Research at Alzheimer's Society, said: "Many people living with dementia also have depression and anxiety, making it even harder for them and their carers to cope with symptoms and for some people even leading to a faster decline in memory and thinking problems. Consistent and accessible mental health support after a diagnosis is vital.

"This Alzheimer's Society-funded research is the first study looking at the effectiveness of therapy for people living with dementia in a real-world setting. It showed that people living with dementia showed a significant improvement in symptoms of anxiety and depression when treated with therapy, even though their response wasn't as strong as that shown in the general population.

"This research underpins the importance of timely access to mental health support, as revealed in our recent Left To Cope Alone report. We found 61% of people affected by dementia are currently in need of mental health support, and yet, in 2018, of 1 million annual referrals to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services, just 0.2% were for people with dementia.

"Though this study didn't compare the types of therapy, types of dementia, or if there were adaptations made for people living with the disease, it still highlights the urgent need to improve real-world therapy for those living with dementia - with adaptations to improve its effectiveness and accessibility.

"Alzheimer's Society can provide advice, emotional support, and guidance for those living with, or affected by the condition. Visit alzheimers.org.uk or call 0333 150 3456."

Study limitations

Researchers were unable to infer causal relationships between receiving therapy and having an improvement in symptoms as the study was observational in nature and a randomised control design would be needed to establish this causality. Furthermore, while there is evidence to suggest that questionnaires for measuring anxiety and depression can be validly completed by people with dementia, the anxiety scale used has not been validated for use in a sample of people living with dementia meaning it may not accurately measure anxiety. 

Researchers could also not distinguish the type of therapy given to the patients during their IAPT treatment so it is unclear whether one type of therapy may be better than any other in treating anxiety and depression in people living with dementia.

Additionally, the identification of people living with dementia was based on linked records, so some who attended IAPT may have been missed. And the severity of dementia could also not be accounted for at the time of psychological treatment. (ANI) 

 

 Alberta [Canada], October 14 (ANI): A recent study has revealed the role of dietary fiber and gut microbes in people with inflammatory bowel disease, a finding which could lead to personalized dietary guidelines.
The research team discovered that certain types of dietary fibre cause an inflammatory response in some patients, causing symptoms to worsen. They are now working to develop a stool test to examine the microbes found in each patient's gut in order to predict who will have a negative response, so they can tailor dietary recommendations and treatment for individual patients.
Approximately 0.7 per cent of Canada's population, or one in 150 people, has IBD, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and that is predicted to grow to one per cent by 2030.
IBD symptoms may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stools, weight loss, late puberty, and a long-term risk of colorectal cancer. The exact cause is unknown, but some risk factors include genetics, diet, environmental factors and changes in the gut microbes.
"We know there are health benefits to consuming dietary fibres and they promote good gut health in healthy individuals, but IBD patients quite frequently complain about a sensitivity when they consume dietary fibres," says Heather Armstrong, who started the research as a postdoctoral researcher at the U of A and is now an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Manitoba and Canada Research Chair in Integrative Bioscience. "We really wanted to understand the mechanisms behind this."
"By creating this stool test, we are hoping to be able to tell you how to adjust your diet to prevent flares or further worsening," says Eytan Wine, a professor in the U of A's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. "It's a dynamic situation so it's possible that a certain food you should avoid now, in a few months you'll be okay to eat that again."
The researchers have identified that specific types of fibres found in foods such as artichoke, chicory roots, garlic, asparagus, and bananas, are especially hard to ferment if certain microbes are missing or malfunctioning, as is often the case for IBD patients.
Fibre has a beneficial anti-inflammatory effect in most healthy people and aids with digestion, but researchers have found that select unfermented fibres actually increase inflammation and worsen symptoms in some IBD patients.
"We want to start uncovering why it is that 20 to 40 per cent of patients experience sensitivity," says Armstrong, "while in the other portion of patients these dietary fibres can actually benefit health and protect against the disease and have very positive effects." (ANI)

Washington [US], October 12 (ANI): New research shows that older adults may be better supported as they age when their personalities are considered, for example, are they more like orchids or dandelions? Researchers examined the potential effects of lifestyle activities on the cognitive health of more than 3,500 adults aged 60+. They found that personality using psychology's orchid-dandelion metaphor can be a factor in how well supportive programs work.
Researchers from Simon Fraser University's Circle Innovation examined the potential effects of lifestyle activities on the cognitive health of more than 3,500 adults aged 60+. They found that personality-using psychology's orchid-dandelion metaphor can be a factor in how well supportive programs work. Their results, published this month in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, make a case for policy-makers to consider designing programs tailored to personality types rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
"These discoveries offer new possibilities to support aging adults and provide substantial evidence for new social prescribing programs," says Circle Innovation CEO and scientific director Sylvain Moreno. "Understanding how personality differences affect an aging population can help decision-makers provide older adults with solutions that fit their individual needs."
People who may be considered 'orchid adults' thrive best under ideal circumstances, since they are more sensitive and biologically reactive, while 'dandelion adults' are thought to be resilient and can easily adapt to any environment.
That means orchid individuals could require more nurturing solutions, researchers say. "These older adults are more fragile, like the delicate flower they represent, and hence prone to overreact to ongoing health and housing problems, disturbing news about the economy or global pandemics," says SFU PhD student and study researcher Emma Rodrigues. "On the other hand, dandelion retirees are relatively less environment-sensitive and also more resilient to deterioration in poor environmental conditions."
"The lesson here is that weshould stop pigeonholing aging adults into one group of our population. These results demonstrate how aging trajectories can differ depending on whether the environment influences a person."
According to researchers, understanding how modifiable lifestyle factors may maintain or promote cognitive health can lead to a healthier aging population. (ANI)

 New York [US], October 13 (ANI): According to a study conducted by the City University of New York and the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, menthol consumption has increased over the past ten years among adult smokers in the United States.
Adult smokers who are younger, from racial/ethnic minority groups, and with mental health issues are substantially more likely to use menthol. The journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research publishes the findings. About two out of every five smokers of cigarettes use menthol often. In 2020, more than 80% of Black smokers favoured menthol, which is a consistent percentage compared to earlier studies.
It was noted by Renee D. Goodwin, PhD, of the Department of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, that "approximately 50% of smokers who were Hispanic, female, ages 18-25 and 26-34, lesbian/gay, and adults with mental health problems, used menthol in 2020.
This is higher than previously reported and suggests use has expanded across all segments of the population of adults who smoke cigarettes."
Although the Center for Tobacco Products declared its desire to create a product standard that would limit menthol as a defining flavour in cigarettes, action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been missing. Canada and the United Kingdom have outlawed menthol as a cigarette flavouring.
However, experts caution that menthol cigarettes will probably be on the market for a long time given the regulatory procedure needed to publish a product standard and the possibility of tobacco industry litigation.
According to Goodwin's findings, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposed ban on menthol as a distinguishing flavour in cigarettes "may have a significant impact on public health, particularly among youth and vulnerable populations."
The researchers examined nationally representative annual data from 128,327 Americans 18 and older from the 2008-2019 and 2020 waves of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in order to estimate trends in menthol use among adults who smoke cigarettes by sociodemographic, mental health, and substance use variables (NSDUH). The DSM-IV criteria for a major depressive episode were used to measure depression.
From 34% in 2008 to 41% in 2019, menthol cigarette consumption among those who smoke increased significantly overall. In 2020, menthol was used by 43% of adults who had smoked cigarettes within the previous month.
Menthol use was most prevalent among adults of colour (80 per cent). Menthol was utilised by more than 50% of Hispanic women who were also young (ages 18 to 34), lesbian/gay, in acute psychological distress, and cigar smokers. Menthol consumption increased more quickly among adults, Hispanics, light cigarette smokers (1-5 cigarettes per day), and cigar smokers.
One interesting finding was the rise in menthol use among Hispanic people over the study period (from 34% in 2008 to 48% in 2019 and 51% in 2020), with a faster rise among Hispanic smokers than among Non-Hispanic White smokers.
Goodwin notes that there hasn't been much research done in this area until now and suggests many reasons why menthol cigarettes are becoming more and more common among Hispanic smokers. "For one, there is evidence that menthol cigarettes are being marketed to Hispanic adults more frequently."
According to Goodwin, "Our study reveals ongoing and unabated disparities in menthol usage, particularly among members of tobacco use disparity groups." The increase in menthol use among smokers over the previous ten years was broadly noticeable across categories, according to data from 2020. (ANI)

 12 October World Arthritis Day: हर साल 12 अक्टूबर का दिन ‘वर्ल्ड अर्थराइटिस डे’ के रूप में मनाया जाता है. डॉक्टर और अन्य प्रोफेशनल इस दिन बहुत से कैंपेन और अलग-अलग एक्टिविटी के माध्यम से जागरूकता फैलाने का काम करते हैं. इस दिन अर्थराइटिस के मरीजों को भी इस बीमारी से ठीक होने के लिए प्रॉपर उपचार आदि के बारे में सलाह दी जाती है. गठिया के सभी प्रकारों जैसे गाउट ल्युपस, ऑस्टियोअर्थराइटिस, रूमेटॉयड अर्थराइटिस आदि के बारे में पर्याप्त जानकारी दी जाती है. समय से उपचार करवाने के साथ ही मरीज इस बीमारी के साथ भी आरामदायक जीवन जी सकते हैं. यह दिन अर्थराइटिस फाउंडेशन के द्वारा सामने लाया गया था. अर्थराइटिस ग्रीक शब्द ‘अर्थो’ से निकला है, जिसका मतलब है जोड़ और आइटिस का मतलब होता है इंफ्लेमेशन. अर्थराइटिस का मतलब होता है जोड़ों में सूजन होना. किसी भी हड्डियों वाले प्राणी में यह स्थिति देखने को मिल सकती है.

अर्थराइटिस से संबंधित ज़रूरी बातें
-इस बीमारी का कोई उपचार नहीं है, लेकिन एक्सरसाइज और लाइफस्टाइल में किए गए बदलावों के द्वारा इसे मैनेज करके आराम की जिंदगी जी जा सकती है. इसमें फिजिकल थेरेपी भी काम आ सकती है.
-ऐसे लोगों के लिए चल पाना या फिर मूवमेंट करना मुश्किल हो जाता है, इसलिए एक्सरसाइज आदि करना काफी मुश्किल हो जाता है.

-इससे इंफ्लेमेशन कम होने में मदद मिलती है और लंबे समय तक राहत मिल सकती है.
-अधिकतर यह दर्द बुजुर्गों में होता है, लेकिन अब यह दर्द हर उम्र वर्ग के लोगों में भी देखने को मिल रहा है.
-इससे पीड़ित 30% लोग 65 वर्ष से कम आयु के ही हैं. इनमें से कुछ लोग टीनएजर्स हैं और कुछ तो छोटे बच्चे भी हैं.
-समय-समय पर डॉक्टर के पास विजिट करते रहना चाहिए और इसके लक्षणों को कंट्रोल करने के बारे में पूछते रहना चाहिए.

 Darlinghurst [Australia], October 11 (ANI): Having specific combinations of underlying health issues is a significant risk for poorer health outcomes in older adults who have had a fracture earlier, a recent study from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research has revealed.
The findings of the study were published in the journal JAMA Network Open. The study was conducted on more than 300,000 Danish people aged 50 or older who had sustained a fracture. In patients with fractures closer to the centre of the body (for example, in the hip, spine, upper arm or leg), the researchers found a higher mortality rate than expected for the general population of the same age. If those people with fractures also had multiple or complex health conditions, the mortality risk was higher again.
The researchers found that certain clusters of conditions were associated with increased mortality rates, suggesting this information could be used by clinicians to highlight patients who may require more intensive medical care.
"This is an important study that could really change the way in which we provide medical treatment to older adults," said Professor Jacqueline Center, Head of the Clinical Studies and Epidemiology lab and lead author of the study. "It can potentially be a new way of thinking about how we view people with fractures, considering the site of fracture in light of their specific underlying health conditions."
Typically, the management of health conditions like osteoporosis, heart disease or diabetes is considered in terms of the individual disease. However, these new findings suggest that looking at clusters of underlying conditions could indicate someone is at high risk of poorer outcomes, over and above the risk from the condition being treated.
The researchers found chronic health conditions at the time of fracture were naturally clustered into five specific groups for men and four for women: a relatively healthier group with generally only one or no health conditions, a cardiovascular group, a diabetic group, and a cancer group with an additional liver/inflammatory group for men.
Visiting scientist Robert Blank added, "It is not good enough to count other illnesses. Their severity and their combinations must also be taken into account. Many patients with a history of prior cancers, for example, were not in what we call the cancer cluster, but the cancer cluster included virtually all those who had evidence of advanced cancer. The same kind of sorting by severity was observed in the other clusters as well."
Interestingly, a fracture located closer to the centre of the body, like hip, vertebrae or upper arm bones had a higher risk of mortality. By contrast, those in the healthy group who had fractures further away in the body, such as hands and forearms, had virtually no increase in mortality rate.
The presence of specific clusters of health conditions in people compounded the chance of death following these fractures, much greater than either fractures or health conditions alone. For instance, the mortality rate following hip fracture amongst men in the cancer cluster was 41% higher than similarly aged men in the general community. And diabetes in otherwise healthy people was not associated with increased mortality risk, but diabetes in combination with heart, vascular or kidney disease was.
"This research highlights that there's an interaction between the fracture and a patient's cluster of health conditions - their underlying health - and that this could be a good way to identify at-risk people," said Dr Thach Tran from Garvan, first author of the study. "We can identify people who will likely fare poorly. Importantly, the findings from this research may be applicable to many disease settings in which sentinel events occur with pre-existing health disorders."
It is not understood why the connection exists between multiple underlying conditions, the type of fracture and poor outcomes, but Professor Center thinks it could be the interaction with bone and the immune system. "Bone is not inert. When you break a bone, you get an increased bone turnover and associated inflammatory factors and I suspect that in underlying diseases, this process is not well controlled and a fracture may fuel underlying health issues," she said.
The next steps are to determine if these clusters are evident in other diseases - if they are universal - and if they can be used as a predictive tool for clinicians. (ANI)

 Washington [US],  (ANI): According to the National Sleep Foundation and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, most adolescents get less than eight, especially on school nights, even though they need eight to 10 hours of sleep per night to maintain physical health, emotional well-being and school performance.

Newly published research from RUSH in the journal SLEEP sheds light on how adolescents can get more shut-eye.

“There are a lot of changes a teen goes through,” said Stephanie J. Crowley, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences and the director of the Pediatric Chronobiology and Sleep Research Program at RUSH. “One specifically is a change to sleep biology that happens during puberty.”

“The brain systems that control sleep change in such a way that it’s easier for an adolescent to stay awake later into the evening. One of these systems — the 24-hour circadian clock — shifts later in time,” Crowley said.

So there are two competing forces: one to go to bed earlier for the school schedule and the other a biological change that happens naturally to a teen’s body.

Because of this complex conflict, RUSH researchers set out to test a two-week intervention that targets the circadian system with different behavioural measures and tries to help the teens figure out a better nighttime routine.

To combat teen sleep deprivation, the researchers used bright light therapy on two weekend mornings for a total of 2.5 hours. The bright light cues the internal clock to wake up a little earlier. This shift should make it easier for the teen to fall asleep at an appropriate time.

Less tired, irritable

Crowley and her team then helped counteract sleep deprivation by providing time management tools and addressing barriers to an earlier bedtime, like limiting certain after-school activities.

Researchers were able to shift the teens’ bedtime by an hour and a half earlier, and their total sleep time increased by approximately an hour.

“The interesting thing is that teens with late circadian clocks shifted by up to two hours earlier,” Crowley said. “And the teens who had an earlier circadian clock didn’t need to be shifted any earlier. They just needed the behavioural support of trying to manage their time in the evening and increase their sleep duration.”

The researchers also found that the teens in the intervention group were less tired, less irritable and less worried, and they exhibited better concentration. The students’ morning alertness improved as well.

The RUSH researchers are following the participants in another study to determine whether the adolescents were able to maintain their improved sleep routine. (ANI)