Talk:Chronobiology/Archive 1

Empty Section?
Do note that the References section of this entry seems to be empty, despite the links to specifics scattered throughout the article. Unless someone objects, I'll remove the aforementioned section. --Animeronin 07:40, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

Infra or Ultra?
Re the infra/ultra debate: yes I know it seems weird, but I got the content from the U of Va website, and that was how they characterised the two rhythms. Also, it is common to use an expression such as "human females" rather than "women" when one is switching back and forth between discussions of animals and humans. It's a bit more clinical. User:MMGB


 * Yeah, "human females" doesn't sound that bad here. But if I find people referred to as diseases or as "cases" in other articles, I will change it. People are not merely objects, and Wikipedia should be (I think) more humane than "clinical" communications. (not meant personally, just in general :-) -- Marj Tiefert, Thursday, June 13, 2002

Some people consider it ...
Please insert a reference to these people or delete the statement: "Some people consider it pseudoscience and others protoscience." Jclerman 00:07, 2 October 2005 (UTC)


 * I agree. I'll change this if no-one responds to a weasel word tag. --Ireon 11:10, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Related to...
Please explain how on basis of a verifiable peer-reviewed reference. Jclerman 17:04, 7 November 2005 (UTC)


 * It's not necessary to have a "verifiable peer-reviewed reference". This is not academia .... and it is not "necessary" to have this. A google search (like here) is quite sufficient. JDR 17:20, 7 November 2005 (UTC) (PS., what you are asking is from a "non-NPOV position of peerage")

Assessment tools
This article has existed for a long time, and I was suprised to see that it lacked a section on questionnaires to assess whether people are morning or evening types. I have now began one, adding the reference for Horne and Ostberg (1976). Please note that there should be an Umlaut over the O in Ostberg, but I was not sure how to get one using this laptop!

Reference: Horne, J.A. @ Ostberg, O. (1976) A Questionnaire to determine Morningness-Eveningness in Human Circadian Rhythms. International Journal of Chronobiology, 4, 97-110. ACEOREVIVED 19:39, 13 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Qualify the temperature. Skin? Core? Jclerman 07:06, 14 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I definitely agree that the topic of chronotypes (morningness/eveningness, larks and owls, A-people and B-people in some languages) should have its place in Wikipedia! A great deal of research now refers to it.  Horne and Östberg made the first questionnaire.  A newer one is the MCTQ, the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire by T. Roenneberg et al.
 * But the field of chronobiology is much wider than this topic, which, AFAIK, involves just humans. It could go into the article on Circadian rhythms, but also they involve much more than just humans.  IMO "Chronotypes" needs its own article in Wikipedia, one which will be linked to from many assorted articles.  Are you up to it? Hordaland 14:50, 28 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your message on my page, ACEOREVIVED. Now I've done some looking, and I think I'll tackle my very first article on Wikipedia: Chronotype.  I'm not an "expert", but I'm a DSPS patient who has done a lot of reading about circadian rhythms.  First draft is in the works. Hordaland 15:31, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Hi again, ACEOREVIVED, hope you're watching this page. I've now done the article Chronotype which includes a list of assessment tools for morningness/eveningness as well as results of research into biological markers etc. From your section "Assessment tools" here, I've lifted the Horne/Östberg quote attributing it to "page 109" as you have done. I'm taking your word for that, but I wish I could access the entire article somewhere.

Now perhaps your "Assessment tools" section should be removed? Hordaland 09:13, 3 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Until we have received official confirmation from user ACEOREVIVED, I've added the entry "Chronotype" to the See Also section Animeronin —Preceding comment was added at 11:37, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

I am very happy to have "chronotype" in the "See also" section - in fact, I would expect this. Hordaland, yes, I have been watching this, and think you article is very good (see my comments on the talk-page at Chronotype. I think we should still have a section here headed "Assessment Tools", but perhaps it could be shortend a little now, so as to avoid duplication in the article on "chronotype", perhaps just mentioning the basic scales and telling people to refer to the latter article for more information. What do people think? ACEOREVIVED 20:24, 4 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Well, I'd already revised the following paragraph to include "assessment tools" and "chronotypes", and I'm not convinced that so much more is needed.
 * "More recently, light therapy and melatonin administration have been explored by Dr. Alfred J. Lewy (OHSU) and other researchers as a means to reset animal and human circadian rhythms. Humans can be morning people or evening people; these variations are called chronotypes for which there are various assessment tools and biological markers."  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hordaland (talk • contribs) 22:10, 4 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I've now taken the liberty of removing the section Assessment tools from this article. All or most of it is included in Chronotype.  Having it here also is not only redundant but gives too much space and weight to a minor point in this connection. --Hordaland (talk) 07:34, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Unserious paragraph?
"More recent research by William Rowe in the UK has discovered another colour/light clock called Chromo that helps the body understand what time it is based on a very simple colour and time standard. The theory allows you to control your circadian rhythm by using colour to release different hormones in your body, the two main ones being seratonin and melatonin."

The chromo.org site seems not to be updated. Many of the links don't work. The forum doesn't work. Googling, I find that Wm. Rowe is an artist. I don't think this "colour psychology" belongs here, and suggest that the paragraph be removed. Hordaland 18:58, 27 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks for removing it. (That was quick.) Hordaland 14:53, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Impact of computers, night shifts, and stress on sleep disorders
I know a surgeon who has been suffering from a severe sleep disorder for decades, since his stressful clinical residency and his sleep debt from many night shifts, and also due to the nature of his work and constant research studies. He has been using all his knowledge in medical science and also received some help from his fellow doctors, albeit his circadian cycle could not be normalized until he moved to Southern California, a better latitude than he was before. He also found the right color scheme for his bedroom decoration, through a lengthy process of trial and error, until he created a highly personalized environment that is comfortable in every detail.

In the 1990s we were researching on the subject, and at one day we both looked at the diagram of "Brain map" (from the neurology magazine Smart drug news, vol 5, n 10) showing relations between levels of Dopamine and Serotonin. We researched and discussed brain multi-functions and the whole conundrum of stress, emotions, and sleep disorders. After some thinking and decision-making he made very clever arrangements: he limited his workload to three days a week, started swimming every morning, walking for a full hour every afternoon, relaxing before sunset, and soon his sleep pattern became better. Another improvement in his life happened when he trashed his PC and stopped using TV, monitors, or any computerized devices in his bedroom. He still keeps saying how hard it is to be sensitive to things that are unnoticed by many others, simply because chronobiological sensitivity is so variable in population, albeit the sense of humor is too.

Good night, everybody, Steve shelok  honov  06:59, 11 December 2007 (UTC)