geomagnetic activity and its effect on sleep patterns
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Geomagnetic Activity and itsEffects on Sleep Patterns
Christina Glenn
How Do Animals Navigate?
Two Proposed Mechanisms
#1 Biogenic Magnetite- Magnetic material found in certainanimals that is extremely sensitive tooutside magnetic fields
-Animals with biogenic magnetite haveshown the ability to respond to verysmall changes in the earth’sgeomagnetic field (Kirschvink and Gould181-201).
#2 Cryptochrome- A protein migratory birds use tonavigate. It is found in the eyes
-- The method by whichcryptochrome operates iscomplex- but the end result is thatit allows birds to navigate by usingthe earth’s magnetic field, even inadverse weather conditions(Schulten)
How Does This Relate toHumans?
- Both magnetoreceptivecryptochrome and biogenicmagnetite have been found inhumans.
- There is a lot of controversy inthe scientific communityconcerning whether or not thisimpacts a persons ability tosense and respond to thegeomagnetic field
Testing Human Sensitivity via Cryptochrome
- Studies have linkedgeomagnetic activity withfluctuations in melatoninproduction
-Cryptochrome plays animportant role in melatoninproduction
-Linking these two, I narrowed myfocus down to studying sleeppatterns- with the assumptionthat disturbances could becaused by fluctuations inmelatonin production
The Experiment
-30 individuals were asked to fill out a surveyregarding their regular sleeping patterns
-They were then asked to keep a journal for 30days, recording any disturbances that could not beexplained by outside sources (phone ringing, dogsbarking, etc) or medication.
Experiment (cont.)- After the results were returned, the daily number of disturbanceswere recorded. -The number of daily disturbances were compared to the strengthof the daily geomagnetic fluctuations, recorded by the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a daily A-index.
*A-indices are inblue, and numberof disturbancesare in red
Results
Correlation Coefficient (r) = 0.28Probability = 0.06
Conclusion
This subject matter would be better examinedunder testing methods more sophisticated than adiary survey alone. Because of this, I believe thatthe weak positive correlation and close proximityto statistical significance in a diary surveywarrants further research using more accuratetesting methods in a more formal researchenvironment. A larger sample size and morecontrol measures would also be beneficial.
References
Kirschvink, JL, and JL Gould. "Biogenic Magnetite as a basis formagnetic field detection in animals." Biosystems. 13.3 (1981): 181-201.Web. 21 Apr. 2014
Schulten, Klaus. "Quantum Computing and Animal Navigation."Lectures on Quantum Phenomena. N.p., 13 Apr 2011. Web. 18 Apr2014.
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