What Are Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders?

any good drill sergeant could cure you of all those disorders. jon

 

Any way to make a dollar. The medical community "loses sleep" trying to think of new ways to scam hard-working people out of their money by making them think they have a "new disorder" that they can "help alleviate". They will make a lot of people think they have a disorder where only a tiny fraction of people were found to have ever had such a disorder in "studies".

 

I couldn't agree more, Tex. I've been on CPAP for years, and I swear by it. But the medical providers just flat out suck. Insurance mandates that I get checked at least once a year or they won't pay for the supplies. But as far as I can tell, the only thing they do is read the card in the machine, tell you everything is OK, and then charge the crap out of you and your insurance company.

 

Your circadian rhythm is a biological process inside the body. Your body operates on a 24 hour clock. Normal circadian rhythm is you're awake during the day and you sleep at night. Messing with your circadian rhythm can cause all sorts of health issues. Your body works best on a schedule. This isn't crap, it's scientific research. For instance, folks who work night shift typically live 5 years less than those who work day shift. Folks like myself who get woken up all of the sudden to loud noises and have random sleep patterns due to emergency call volume are affected heavily by this. I can tell you for fact when I left the EMS service on 24 hour shifts and worked a normal day job, I slept better, I felt better, and my days went better. It's a fact of life that circadian rhythm is real, and it's important.

Here's some facts from Wikipedia. If you don't like that as a source, you can google it all day long and find research papers galore on the topic.

To be called circadian, a biological rhythm must meet these four general criteria:

1. The rhythms repeat once a day (they have a 24-hour period). In order to keep track of the time of day, a clock must be at the same point at the same time each day, i.e. repeat every 24 hours.
2. The rhythms persist in the absence of external cues (endogenous). The rhythm persists in constant conditions with a period of about 24 hours. The rationale for this criterion is to distinguish circadian rhythms from simple responses to daily external cues. A rhythm cannot be said to be endogenous unless it has been tested in conditions without external periodic input.
3. The rhythms can be adjusted to match the local time (entrainable). The rhythm can be reset by exposure to external stimuli (such as light and heat), a process called entrainment. The rationale for this criterion is to distinguish circadian rhythms from other imaginable endogenous 24-hour rhythms that are immune to resetting by external cues, and hence do not serve the purpose of estimating the local time. Travel across time zones illustrates the ability of the human biological clock to adjust to the local time; a person will usually experience jet lag before entrainment of their circadian clock has brought it into sync with local time.
4. The rhythms maintain circadian periodicity over a range of physiological temperatures; they exhibit temperature compensation. Some organisms live at a broad range of temperatures, and differences in thermal energy will affect the kinetics of all molecular processes in their cell(s). In order to keep track of time, the organism's circadian clock must maintain a roughly 24-hour periodicity despite the changing kinetics, a property known as temperature compensation.

link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm

 

No one is disputing circadian rhythm is important and night sleep/day work is the body's natural preference. My problem is a few doctors trying to convince some they have a "disorder" because they suffer occasional insomnia or becoming occasionally tired at odd times. There are dozens of causes of either of these issues but the idea this is a "documented disorder" requiring you to give up hard-earned money to correct is what we're having a problem with. Eat right, sleep right, work right, exercise right and your "circadian rhythm disorder" will magically disappear, free of charge or fees.

 

Folks who work rotating shifts, and of course most truckers, probably do have a constant problem with that. But it is something that most folks adapt to over time. If they don't, they find other work. (or die in accidents. . .)

This whole sleep disorder treatment thing, is a reminiscent of chiropracty, in that there are certainly instances when both are needed. But the field is also rife with fraud and unneeded treatments.

 

Ok have been waiting afew days to say anything bout this so here goes;One of the arguments presented about the revised hours of service and the two 1-5am periods in the restart provision--went something like this--Although cmv accidents have been on the decline there is substantial evidence to state that many accidents still happen during the early morning hours when drivers are most likely to be driving tired drowsy etc--now I AM NOT commenting on this just stating what was brought up by many groups(NHTSA_PUBLIC CITIZEN)etc--in the court arguments that forced the revision. FMCSA argument for the 2x 1-5am provision was to allow sleep rhythms to become normalized--ie;getting drivers back on a "more normal"(their words)schedule.
OK so following "their"reasoning--here is my question? (really a statement)
Are you people serious! Using your calculated scientifically induced pablum about sleep cycles--FMCSA/DOT is now going to FORCE drivers to get into a normal day/nite sleep pattern during their time off and THEN FORCE ALL OF THEM RIGHT BACK ONTO ROTATION 3rd SHIFT@!!
From following many of the comments arguments I have read on this board over time--I am going to make some assumptions here. Most if not many of the T/L larger carrier drivers--work/drive their 11--then take 10 and go again--so lets do the math--using the new rules a driver starts a 5 on day one--and with the built in 1/2 break and say another 1/4 hr along the way o/d not driving--that is 11 1/4 hours-(od)-which takes you to 4:45pm the next day--then 10 u start day 2 @2;45am and so on--what am I missing here?
I know there are always variables--I do long haul reefer LTL so this really doesn't apply to me as much BUT--IMHO they(govt)are totally contradicting themselves with this deal--no matter how I add this up--it puts many of the otr drivers right into an overnite pattern directly after trying to set sleep patterns for days--for the most part...
And if I haven't missed anything--and I am right--then the question becomes--WHY are the t/l carries and other groups representing trucking NOT using this argument in court to defeat the new changes instead of their BS lack of productivity/and my favorite-putting more trucks on road during rush hour(what pablum)--
Anyway I guess my real problem here is twofold--first the gov't putting up more smoke and mirrors to the public to make them feel safer--and second and more importantly the so called champions of our industry and all their so called experts with absolutely NO CLUE as to how to effectively lobby/argue--The ATA-TLCA-and OOIDA still remind me of the very early days of motorcycle rights when groups tried to push the helmet danger argument to the gov't--to which a smart politician would always reply--I am going to hit you with this baseball bat--here is a helmet--wear it or dont--up to you-

 

The circadas are supposed to come out every 17 years, so when they don't it's a disorder.