In the Knowledge Café of the Forum Groningen on April 24 between 8 and 9:30 pm, Maaike van Veen, psychiatrist, Catrien Santing, historian, and Marijke Gordijn, chronobiologist from Chrono@Work, will discuss the topic of sleep, mood, history, and more. The discussion is led by Ruth Koops van ‘t Jagt. This Knowledge Café was created in…
The results of our study on the effects of near-infrared light (NIR) on health and well-being in people suffering from sleep loss is published today. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, the effects of three NIR light (850 nm) doses (1, 4, or 6.5 J·cm−2) were examined against the placebo. Exposure was presented five days…
Kick off meeting Healthy Living as a service in Martiniplaza. Our goal in this project is to contribute with knowledge on 24-hour rhythms and sleep. Michelle Luxwolda and Rieks Hoekman organised a presentation of Chrono@Work in a booth. The audience could indicate their sleep pattern to create a chronotype distribution in a creative way!
Chrono@Work received the good news that funding was granted for a project in the topic PCH (personalized & connected health) Ecosystem from the University Medical Center Groningen. This is a European funded project under the umbrella of SNN. In the project, Chrono@Work, supported by the University of Groningen, will develop a mobile application to use…
Last week, I was asked several times to talk again about the role of the biological clock for our health and the detrimental effects of Daylight Saving time. It is all about healthy sleep and the right light at the right time. Prevention of sleep problems is the most important thing. But if you suffer…
Can we bring in a bit of sunshine? After 2 successful rounds of the Light Study last summer and winter, we have decided to extend the study into near-infrared light one more time to the coming winter period. This is the first-ever long-term study into the effects of pulsed near-infrared (NIR) light on human well-being…
Marijke Gordijn is invited for several public events (in Dutch) on the topic of Daylight saving time. The first one will be an interview organised by Studium Generale Utrecht in collaboration with Tivoli/Vredenburg. On October 28th, at 8:15 pm on the stage of Tivoli-Vredenburg in Utrecht, Marijke will talk about the role of the biological…
“Artificial light in most offices and homes undermines performance, well-being and health; it’s time for change and that starts with a new awareness,” says Marijke Gordijn in an article in the LED Magazine of June 2021. Marijke Gordijn has been arguing for the right light at the right time for years. Read the whole article…
Chrono@Work is proud to participate in the EU Horizon2020 Research Project “ENLIGHTENme”: Exploring the Impact of Urban Lighting and Indoor Lighting on Health and Wellbeing, which started with a kick-off meeting on March 4th– 5th, 2021. For the full press release please read more here: 210224_EnlightenME_Press_Release_C@W
On January 8th, Marijke Gordijn from Chrono@Work and Roelof Hut from the University of Groningen were interviewed by EditieNL about the effects of the COVID-19 related restrictions on sleep. Colleagues recently published that on average people sleep longer and later during the lockdown. However, shortage of sleep and sleeping problems have serious health effects. EditieNL…
In the early morning of December 26th, Marijke Gordijn from Chrono@Work gave an interview on NPO Radio 1 about the role of light for well being and health. This item is especially interesting in the dark winter days around Christmas in our region. The focus of the interview was on the new study we do…
Can we bring in a bit of sunshine? After 2 successful rounds of the Light Study last summer and winter, we have decided to extend the study into near-infrared light one more time to the coming winter period. This is the first-ever long-term study into the effects of pulsed near-infrared (NIR) light on human well-being…
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a serious health threat to the world population. In response, governments are implementing a variety of new policies including self-quarantine, self-isolation and social distancing. While medically necessary to limit spread, these new social policies can disrupt many of the stabilizing factors in our lives which support mental health. In close collaboration,…
The policies to limit spreading of COVID-19 is ‘stay home’ and ‘work from home’. The consequence is that most people see very little daylight. While it is very important to stay home as much as possible and keep ‘social distance’ all the time, in the Netherlands it is not forbidden to go outside. The Dutch…
Chrono@Work will be present at several symposia, classes and congresses in the upcoming period. Please have a look and subscribe if you are interested in the topic. 16th April 20:00h in Leeuwarden: Studium Generale Het Einde van de Zomertijd en Dan? 18th April whole day in Zeist: Medilex symposium on ‘Slaapproblemen en -stoornissen bij mensen met…
Chrono@Work published a paper on the role of the biological clock in safety and health in the Dutch journal for health and safety officers: Safety! magazine. In this paper, we explain why we perform so badly during the night and how we can keep our biological clock in synch with the natural rhythm of light…
Last weekend Daylight saving time 2018 ended and Europe went back to Central European Time. In a short movie commissioned by the University of Groningen, Marijke Gordijn explained once more why for us, in the Netherlands, the current time we have in winter is the most optimal choice. In fact, The Netherlands should even be…
In August, the European Union voted to abolish the bi-annual change in clock time. `Whether the continent will be in constant ‘wintertime’ or ‘summertime’ remains to be decided and this imposes a lot of debate in the various countries of the European Union. Chrono@Work is actively involved in international and national discussion. International and Dutch…
On May 17th, Pauline Bollen and Marijke Gordijn from Chrono@Work organized an interactive workshop for a group of 15 social workers of academic institutes in the Netherlands. The assignment was clear: inform us on possible sleep problems we may encounter in our office and how to proceed if we recognize some. The 3h-workshop consisted of…
In the Dutch Television program ‘Dokters van Morgen‘ on October 17th, Antoinette Herzenberg pays attention to the importance of a healthy sleep. As part of the program, five volunteers went camping during one weekend. Chrono@Work supported the program with scientific input and the analysis of light exposure, rest-activity rhythms and melatonin patterns. Following up on…
Wams, E.J., Woelders, T., Marring, I., Van Rosmalen L., Beersma, D.G.M., Gordijn, M.C.M. & Hut R.A. Linking light exposure and subsequent sleep: a field EEG study in humans. SLEEP 40 (12): zsx165 (2017)
https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsx165
The Dutch media are highly interested in the new teaching package Charge Your Brainzzz. Please read the item “50% of the adolescents do not sleep enough…but in this way you will get them in bed” (in Dutch) that RTL published online on September 27th.
After a year of hard work we are there! The teaching materials for the package Charge Your Brainzzz are ready. Charge your Brains teaches highschool students about sleep. On 27 September, Chrono@Work and the Dutch Brain Foundation will launch this special educational package. Charge Your Brainzzz is a modern package with activating learning tools including…
Wednesday September 27th, Chrono@Work and the Brain Foundation will launch the new teaching material Charge Your Brainzzz in the Corpus Congress Centre in Leiden. Charge Your Brainzzz consists of a package of three lessons about sleep regulation and sleep disorders, with activating learning tools, animations (to be used during class) and a serious game developed…
Aan het Rot, M., Miloserdov, K., Buijze, A.K.F., Meesters, Y., Gordijn, M.C.M. Premenstrual mood and empathy after a single light therapy session. Psychiatry Research 256: 212-218 (2017).
http://www.psy-journal.com/article/S0165-1781(16)31613-4/fulltext
On May 16, Chrono @ Work organizes 2 workshops for Ambulance Care Netherlands in the Rijtuigenloods in Amersfoort. These workshops are part of the program ‘Sustainable employability: Optimal on the go!’ Both workshops are fully booked. During the workshop attention is given to the care for the ambulance workers themselves. How to deal with the…
Woelders T., Beersma D.G.M., Gordijn M.C.M., Hut R.A. & Wams E.J. Daily light exposure patterns reveal phase and period of the human circadian clock. J. Biol. Rhythms 2017
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0748730417696787
Gordijn M.C.M. Slapen als onderdeel van een gezonde leefstijl. In: “Gestoorde slaap: een onschuldig probleem?” Lancel M., Koenraadt F. en ‘t Lam K. (eds). Wolf Legal Publishers. pp 13-28. (2016).
Chronotherapeutic interventions Marijke Gordijn of Chrono@Work co-authored a Dutch paper on Chronotherapeutic interventions in Psychiatry. She wrote this paper together with 3 colleagues with whom she also started Chronotherapy Network Netherlands (www.cnn.nl). The paper was published in the continuing education journal Psyfar. Since 2006, Psyfar focusses on educating and testing psychiatrists, hospital pharmacists, geriatrics specialists,…
Meesters Y., Gordijn, M.C.M., Spaans H.P., Verwijk E. Chronotherapeutische interventies. Psyfar 11(4): 18-25. (2016).
Seasonal affective disorder, winter type: current insights and treatment options Marijke Gordijn from Chrono@Work co-authored a review paper on Seasonal Affective disorders. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), winter type, is a seasonal pattern of recurrent major depressive episodes most commonly occurring in autumn or winter and remitting in spring/summer. The syndrome has been well-known for more…
Chrono@Work’s employee Marina Giménez is the first author of a paper describing a study on the effects of a new dynamic room lighting system on sleep of patients admitted to a cardiology ward. Irregular 24 h light/dark cycles with night-time light exposure and a low amplitude are disruptive for sleep, mood and circadian rhythms. Nevertheless,…
On September 12 several media reported that according to a TNS Nipo survey among 3,400 Dutch, that one out of six workers has sleeping problems. In a radio interview with Radio North on September 12 at 13: 40h Marijke Gordijn CEO of Chrono@Work explained what the risks are of sleep deprivation (http://radio.rtvnoord.nl/ipad/index.asp?actie=radiogemist). We should distinguish…
In their issue No. 19 of 23 August – 6 september, Computer Idee, a magazine about computers and electronics for consumers, pays detailed attention to the pros and cons of blue light filters for computers, tablets and smartphones. The conclusion is that we are exposed to more blue light through the use of electronic screens…
LIght therapy to shift the biological clock has been shown to be effective, but in most cases studies are carried out in well controlled laboratory studies and with long duration light pulses. In practice, light therapy should consist of an easy to apply lighting regime to which people at home will adhere and with clear…
Chrono@Work wrote an informative article in the journal of “Longkruid” of the Dutch Society for Pulmonary Function Analysts. Breathing and sleep are two essential elements of our daily life that, if everything is working correctly, we barely notice. But if something goes wrong, it has a great impact on our daily lives, our work and…
The therapy of first choice for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder, winter type, is light treatment. Meta analyses have shown that light therapy in the morning has the highest chance to be successful. In the Netherlands, common practice is 30-45 minutes of bright light therapy in the morning for five consecutive days. If given early in…
Light pulses of 30 min. in the morning on three consecutive days, in a home setting, in combination with dim light during the evenings, can be part of an efficient phase advancing chronotherapy protocol to shift the biological clock. It is well known from controlled laboratory experiments, that light in the morninge induces phase shifts of the biological…
Apple recently released a free update to iOS 9.3, the operating system for iPhone and iPad. The most interesting addition this time is the ‘night shift’ function. After sunset, the screen gets a rosy glow that is less bothersome to the eyes and should ensure a better night’s sleep. In the Dagblad van het Noorden…
Under the umbrella of the Dutch Association of Sleep-Wake Research (NSWO) and the Sleep Medicine Association Netherlands (SVNL) the first Dutch Sleep Congress, SLEEP 2016.will be organized on the 3-4 November, 2016 in the Heerlickheijd, Ermelo. The conference is a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between different departments working in the field of Sleep, e.g. pulmonologists, neurologists,…
Daylight saving time will be set coming Saturday to Sunday. The clock will advance and this is something we can feel well: our biological clock gets upset. Marijke Gordijn, chronobiologist at the University of Groningen explains why: ‘Our brains contain a biological clock. That signals to our body what time it is. Just like old-fashioned…
During the night of Saturday to Sunday daylight saving time will start: the clock will move forward one hour. The discussion to get rid of daylight saving time has been going on for many years. NU.nl asked the experts about their opinion. “I think we can better repeal daylight saving time”, states researcher of human…
Light of short wavelengths has been shown to play a key role in non-image forming responses. Due to aging, the ocular lens becomes more yellow reducing the transmission of short wavelengths in the elderly. In the present study, we make use of cataract surgery to investigate the effects of a relative increase of short wavelength transmission on melatonin-…
Trouble getting out of bed, a constant yearning for chocolate, craving Netflix more than sex… The shortest day might be over, but especially in January and February we massively encounter the winter blues. The University of Groningen figured that in roughly 500.000 Dutch people the winter blues takes on such a violent form that they…
A new photometric measure of light intensity that takes into account the relatively large contribution of the ipRGCs to the non-image forming (NIF) system was recently proposed. We set out to revise publications reporting on alertness scores as measured by the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) under different light conditions in order to assess the extendibility…
Various lines of evidence suggest a mechanistic role for altered cAMP-CREB (cAMP response element – binding protein) signaling in depressive and affective disorders. However, the establishment and validation of human inter-individual differences in this and other major signaling pathways has proven difficult. Here, we describe a novel lentiviral methodology to investigate signaling variation over long periods of…
Background: Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is characterized by recurrent episodes of major depression with a seasonal pattern, treated with light therapy (LT). Duration of light therapy differs. This study investigates retrospectively whether a single week of LT is as effective as two weeks, whether males and females respond differently, and whether there is an effect of expectations as…
Light is an important environmental stimulus for the entrainment of the circadian clock and for increasing alertness. The intrinsically photosensitive ganglion cells in the retina play an important role in transferring this light information to the circadian system and they are elicited in particular by short-wavelength light. Exposure to short wavelengths is reduced, for instance, in elderly…
‘The optimal working schedule is different for everyone.’ Increasingly, Dutch businesses are looking for ways to increase health of their shift workers, according to chronobiologist Marijke Gordijn of the Univerity of Groningen. Her company Chrono@Work increasingly gets asked about what to do concerning workplace lighting, food patterns and the right way to schedule personnel. Gordijn…
