Anastasi Kosmadopoulos

• BPsych(Hons), PhD
• PostDoc Position at McGill University

Around a fifth of all road accidents can be attributed to fatigued drivers. Previous studies indicate that driving performance is influenced by time of day and decreases with sustained wakefulness. However, these influences occur naturally in unison, confounding their effects. Typically, when people drive at a poor time of day and with extended wak...

The objective of this study was to assess the validity of a sleep/wake activity monitor, an energy expenditure activity monitor, and a partial-polysomnography system at measuring sleep and wake under identical conditions. Secondary aims were to evaluate the sleep/wake thresholds for each activity monitor and to compare the three devices. To achieve...

Extended wakefulness, sleep loss, and circadian misalignment are factors associated with an increased accident risk in shiftwork. Splitting shifts into multiple shorter periods per day may mitigate these risks by alleviating prior wake. However, the effect of splitting the sleep–wake schedule on the homeostatic and circadian contributions to neurob...

Recent studies indicate that the timing of food intake can significantly affect metabolism and weight management. Workers operating at atypical times of the 24-h day are at risk of disturbed feeding patterns. Given the increased risk of weight gain, obesity and metabolic syndrome in shift working populations, further research is required to underst...

Postmenopausal women are at high risk of developing sleep–wake disturbances. We previously reported dampened circadian rhythms of melatonin, alertness and sleep in postmenopausal compared with young women. The present study aims to further explore electroencephalography power spectral changes in the sleep of postmenopausal women. Eight healthy post...

Introduction Young women present a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than age-matched men, but this risk steeply increases at menopause. Heart rate variability (HRV) has been proposed as a marker of cardiovascular health, which changes with circadian phase and menopause. We aim to understand the changes in the circadian variation of HRV th...

Introduction The aim of this study was to examine whether the intensity of ambient lighting affects the rate at which the human circadian system adapts to working at night. Methods. The whole study will include 60 participants (50:50, F:M; aged 28–35yr; good sleep/health) randomised to one of three conditions. In each condition, participants work 1...

Misalignment of behavior and circadian rhythms due to night work can impair sleep and waking function. While both simulated and field-based studies suggest that circadian adaptation to a nocturnal schedule is slow, the rates of adaptation in real-world shift-work conditions are still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the extent...

Driver fatigue is a contributory factor in approximately 20% of vehicle crashes. While other causal factors (eg, drink-driving) have decreased in recent decades due to increased public education strategies and punitive measures, similar decreases have not been seen in fatigue-related crashes. Fatigued driving could be managed in a similar way to dr...

Study objectives: Several factors may contribute to the high prevalence of sleep disturbances occurring in postmenopausal women. However, the contribution of the circadian timing system to their sleep disturbances remains unclear. In the present study we aim to understand the impact of circadian factors on changes of sleep and alertness occurring...

Objective The aim of this study was to examine whether the timing of sleep in the break between consecutive night-shifts affects the quantity and quality of sleep obtained during the daytime and/or neurobehavioural function and self-perceived capacity during the night-time. Methods Participants (n = 12, all male, aged 22.9±5.2 y) completed three r...

The various non-standard schedules required of shift workers force abrupt changes in the timing of sleep and light-dark exposure. These changes result in disturbances of the endogenous circadian system and its misalignment with the environment. Simulated night-shift experiments and field-based studies with shift workers both indicate that the circa...

Introduction The Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) is a rapid increase in cortisol levels at awakening that lasts for about 1 hour. This secretory phenomenon has been proposed to be independent of circadian cortisol regulation. However, the contribution of the circadian system to the CAR remains unclear. The aim of this study is to assess the circa...

Introduction The simplicity of wrist actigraphy for sleep-wake monitoring in the field contributes to its ubiquity in shift-work research. However, devices based solely on recording activity levels are generally not suitable to quantify sleep architecture. This is a limitation as quantifying changes in sleep stages caused by circadian misalignment...

Introduction Misalignment of behavior and circadian rhythms due to night work can impair sleep and waking function. While both simulated and field-based studies suggest that circadian adaptation to a nocturnal schedule is slow, the rates of adaptation in real-world shift-work conditions are still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to evalua...

Introduction During menopause, 40-60% of women report sleep complaints. Despite the fact that menopause is associated with fluctuations in sex hormones that can affect circadian physiology, the role of circadian factors in sleep disturbances after menopause is not well understood. The present study aims to understand the circadian variation of slee...

Between 10 and 30% of workers carry out night work at least once a month and 12–13% are working on rotating or regular night shifts. These atypical work schedules cause irregular, fragmented sleep patterns, as well as alertness and performance impairments at night. Atypical work schedules result in circadian misalignment, a state of desynchronizati...

Recent studies indicate that the timing of food intake can significantly affect metabolism and weight management. Workers operating at atypical times of the 24-h day are at risk of disturbed feeding patterns. Given the increased risk of weight gain, obesity and metabolic syndrome in shift working populations, further research is required to underst...

Shift work, defined as work occurring outside typical daytime working hours, is associated with an increased risk of various non‐communicable diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Disruption of the internal circadian timing system and concomitant sleep disturbances is thought to play a critical role in the development of these he...

The aim of this study was to compare the quantity/quality of sleep obtained by people living on split and consolidated sleep–wake schedules. The study had a between-groups design, with 13 participants in a consolidated condition (all males, mean age of 22.5 yr) and 16 participants in a split condition (all males,mean age of 22.6 yr). Both condition...

This study compared the impact of split and consolidated sleep/wake schedules on subjective sleepiness during the biological day and biological night. This was achieved using a between-group design involving two forced desynchrony protocols: consolidated sleep/wake and split sleep/wake. Both protocols included 7 × 28-h days with 9.33 h in bed and 1...

The accuracy of sleep/wake estimates derived with actigraphy is often dependent on researchers being able to discern non-wear times from sleep or quiescent wakefulness when confronted by discrepancies in a sleep log. Without knowing when an accelerometer is being worn, non-wear could be inferred from periods of inactivity unlikely to occur while in...

Neurobehavioural impairment on the first night shift is often greater than on subsequent night shifts due to extended wakefulness. The aim of the study was to determine whether a 1-h afternoon nap prior to the first night shift is sufficient to produce neurobehavioural performance at levels comparable to the second night shift. Twelve male voluntee...

Actigraphy, the most widely-used alternative to polysomnography in field-based sleep research, involves applying validated sleep algorithms to data recorded with wrist-worn activity monitors. The primary weakness of this method is that sleep estimates are reliant on participants accurately reporting bed times in sleep diaries and wearing activity m...

Aims: Night workers have some flexibility between night shifts to temporally place their sleep episodes in accordance with their preferences. Night workers who are able to obtain sufficient sleep at times of their choosing may perform better and be more alert on shift than those who are not able to sleep at their preferred times due to societal obl...

Objectives: • Longer durations of wakefulness associated with the transition onto the first night shift results in poorer performance compared to subsequent shifts. • Napping prior to night work is a common strategy used to sustain performance and alertness. • The aim was to determine whether sustained attention and alertness on consecutive 12-h ni...

Aims: Disturbed sleep is associated with sleepiness and impaired neurobehavioral performance. It is important to implement strategies to minimise the impact of performance impairment. It can be difficult for an individual to know when their performance is impaired by sleepiness. The aim of the present study was to examine whether the efficacy of su...

Aims: Neurobehavioural performance is typically worse during night shifts than day shifts because the sleep/wake cycle and circadian rhythm are misaligned. Working multiple shorter shifts per day, to allow some sleep at night and some work during the daytime, may improve night-time performance. However, the effect of splitting the work-rest schedul...

Aims Gold standard sleep measurement, polysomnography (PSG), is not always practical for field-based research due to time and expense. Wristwatch-like activity monitors that estimate sleep from wrist movement are often used instead. The Actical is an activity monitor designed to estimate energy expenditure. While not specifically designed to measur...

Findings can be accessed through: Thompson K, Clarkson L. Views on equine-related research in Australia from the Australian equestrian community: perceived outputs and benefits. Aust Vet J. 2016 Apr;94(4):89-95. doi: 10.1111/avj.12420. PMID: 27021888.

Aims: The incidence of diabetes has reached epidemic proportions and modern society is driven to sleep less. Sleep duration is associated with diabetes risk, and laboratory protocols have demonstrated increases in pre-diabetes indicators after sleep restriction (SR). The aim of this pilot study was to examine the daily effects of SR on glucose meta...