Physicians

Circadian Rhythm Disorders

Circadian rhythm refers to the natural biological cycle that controls how we are attuned to night and day.  Most people function on a circadian rhythm of about 24 hours.  Factors outside the body, especially bright light, help to set the internal clock.  A circadian rhythm disorder means your body is producing hormones, chemicals and neurotransmitters in the wrong amounts and/or at the wrong time of the day.  The natural sleep schedule changes so that the person is out of phase with day and night.  Circadian rhythms permeate practically every aspect of our lives because they so heavily influence the chemicals that determine our mood and sleep.

The circadian rhythm influences how a person feels - if a person desires optimal health, they need to manage their circadian rhythm.  If a circadian rhythm is out of balance, other health aspects will be out of balance as well. 

The Role of Sleep in Circadian Rhythm Disorders

• Sleep is as basic to holistic health as nutrition and exercise.

• Sleep is an active period of growth, cell regeneration, memory consolidation, physiologic recuperation, hormonal regulation, and psychological regrouping.

• Despite the knowledge gained in the sleep sciences in the last half-century, there is an epidemic of sleep disorders that adversely affects the physical, social, and mental health of the many people and those around them.

• Contributing to these sleep disorders is circadian rhythm disorders, which can be life-altering medical conditions that affect sleep/wake homeostasis on a daily basis.

Characteristics of
Circadian Rhythm Disorders

1. There is a persisting or repeating mismatch between a person's sleep-wake pattern and the sleep-wake demands of that patient's environment.
2. The mismatch leads to excessive insomnia or sleepiness.
3. This problem causes clinically important distress or impairs work or social life.
4. It doesn't occur solely during another mental disorder or sleep disorder.
5. It is not directly caused by a general medical condition or substance use, including medications and drugs of abuse.

American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TRTM).

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