Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 1990 A comparison of circadian rhythms in day and night shift workers Mary Lee Blood Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Physiology Commons, and the Psychology Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Blood, Mary Lee, "A comparison of circadian rhythms in day and night shift workers" (1990). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 3991. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.5875 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible:
[email protected]. AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Mary Lee Blood for the Master of Science in Psychology presented October 29, 1990. Title: A Comparison of Circadian Rhythms in Day and Night Shift Workers. APPROVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE THESIS COMMITTEE: Cord B. Sengstake, Chair Alfred J. Lewy Robert L. Sack Gary Brodowicz The present study examined whether and to what extent physiological rhythms of long-term . night workers become adapted to their unconventionally scheduled hours of work and sleep and how 2 the degree of adaptation would be reflected in ratings of sleep quality, mood, anxiety, energy and satisfaction. Many physiological functions such as the release of hormones, excretion of metabolites and fluctuation of core temperature follow predictable circadian (24-hour) rhythms that are regulated by a pacemaker thought to be located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus.