Research Group
Chronobiology [Chrono]
The research group 'Chronobiology' focuses on the control of circadian and ultradian physiological rhythms. It concerns the disturbances of these rhythms due to night work and to environmental influences under the aspect of performance, mood and health.
Night work as well as (concomitant) noise-induced sleep disturbances contribute presumably to the genesis of cardiovascular diseases. An increased health risk seems to apply to morning oriented persons whose cortisol quiescent period is shortened during night work and whose post-awakening cortisol concentrations are higher than in evening oriented persons. Similar though even stronger reactions are assumed for older persons due to the successive advance of their circadian system, the generally elevated cortisol production and the altered architecture of sleep.
This medium-term project concerns basic and applied research. The core disciplines involved are Occupational Medicine, Environmental Physiology, Ergonomics, Psychology and Toxicology/Endocrinology. It cooperates with the research groups "Flexible behaviour control", "Ageing and CNS alterations", "Chemical risks" and "Neurobehavioral toxicology and chemosensation". Further cooperation exists with the centralized facilities "Analytical chemistry" and "Clinical occupational medicine".
Scientific Members
Current research
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Field of research "Night work"
(Barbara Griefahn, Sibylle Robens, Peter Bröde)
Research in this field is focused on the investigation of the mechanisms of neuro-hormonal control of the physiological rhythms by melatonin, the individual ability to perform and to adjust to night work, the possibility to accelerate the physiological adjustment by bright light. The research group looks additionally for indicators that are useful for the quantification of physiological adjustments to night work in field studies. (more ...)
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Field of research "Environment related sleep disturbances"
(Barbara Griefahn, Anke Marks, Peter Bröde)
Sleep disturbances going along with impairment of well-being and performance are increasingly often caused by environmental stress, in particular by night work and traffic noise. Both these causes coincide during night work. A Sleep Disturbance Index (SDI) was developed to quantify the physiological alterations of sleep and the applicability of this index is now investigated for sleep disturbances due to shift work. Moreover, the research group investigates the relation between the quantitative and the qualitative parameters of sleep and the post-awakening cortisol increase.
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Intergroup research initiative "Annoyance of sensorially mediated environmental stimuli"
(Barbara Griefahn, Christoph van Thriel) (research group Chronobiology, research group Physical Environment, research group Neurobehavioural Toxicology and Chemosensation)
Physical and chemical environmental factors can cause a feeling of acute annoyance or, in the long run, even a state of chronic annoyance. This research initiative was started at the end of 2005 and aims at evaluation and comparison of acute annoyance caused by noise and odours. Based on the findings a perceptive/cognitive model will be designed to identify specific modality-related and unspecific moderators of the experienced acute annoyance.
Research facilities
- 4 sleep laboratories (sound shielded rooms) for polysomnographic recordings of sleep
- Work room for experimental shift work where cognitive work is performed at computer screens and where light intensity can be adjusted for an accelerated adjustment to night work
- Multifunctional laboratory for the variation of light, whole body vibrations, noise and climate
Recent grants
- "Effect oriented evaluation of traffic noise" (types and temporal structure of noise. Cognitive performance, mood and sleep behaviour) deufrako (deutsch-französische Forschungskooperation, 2006 - 2009 ? 407.000,00
- Macrostructural alterations of road traffic noise. Effects on annoyance and performance, EUGT, ? 114.400
Co-operations
Dr. med. Mathias Basner, MSc, Institut für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin, DLR/Köln
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hellbrück, Katholische Universität Eichstätt
Prof. Ken Hume, Manchester University
Dr. Patricia Tassi, CNRS, Strasbourg
Prof. Dr. Evy Öhrström, Universität Göteborg
Prof. Stephen Stansfeld, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London