A narrative review of occupational scheduling that impacts fatigue and recovery relevant to veterinarian well-being.

Background: Sleep insufficiency is a worldwide affliction with serious implications for mental and physical health. Occupational factors play a large role in determining sleep habits. Healthcare workers are particularly susceptible to job-mediated sleep insufficiency and inadequate rest in general. Little is published on sleep practices among veterinarians, and overall recognition of the impacts of inadequate rest within the veterinary profession is poor. Objectives and procedures: This review describes occupational factors affecting sufficiency of rest and recovery, reviews veterinary-specific and relevant adjacent literature pertaining to sleep patterns, and discusses potential solutions for addressing occupational schedules contributing to sleep insufficiency and inadequate rest. Online databases were searched to extract contemporary literature pertaining to sleep, insufficient rest, and occupational factors, with a focus on veterinary medicine and other healthcare sectors. Results: Occupational factors leading to inadequate rest among healthcare workers include excessive workloads, extended workdays, cumulative days of heavy work hours, and after-hours on-call duty. These factors are prevalent within the veterinary profession and may contribute to widespread insufficient rest and the resulting negative impacts on health and well-being among veterinarians. Conclusion and clinical relevance: Sufficient sleep quantity and quality are critical to physical and mental health and are negatively affected by many aspects of the veterinary profession. Critical review of current strategies employed in clinical practice is essential to promote professional fulfillment, health, and well-being among veterinarians.

Un examen narratif des horaires de travail qui ont un impact sur la fatigue et la récupération en rapport avec le bien-être des vétérinaires. Mise en contexte: L'insuffisance de sommeil est une affection mondiale avec de graves implications pour la santé mentale et physique. Les facteurs liés à l'emploi jouent un rôle important dans la détermination des habitudes de sommeil. Les travailleurs de la santé sont particulièrement sensibles à l'insuffisance de sommeil liée au travail et au repos inadéquat en général. Il y a peu de publications sur les pratiques de sommeil chez les vétérinaires, et la reconnaissance globale des impacts d'un repos inadéquat au sein de la profession vétérinaire est faible. Objectifs et procédures: Cette revue décrit les facteurs professionnels affectant la quantité suffisante de repos et de la récupération, passe en revue la littérature spécifique aux vétérinaires ainsi que celle adjacente pertinente concernant les habitudes de sommeil, et discute des solutions potentielles pour traiter les horaires professionnels contribuant à l'insuffisance de sommeil et au repos inadéquat. Des bases de données en ligne ont été consultées pour extraire la littérature contemporaine relative au sommeil, au repos insuffisant et aux facteurs liés à l'emploi, en mettant l'accent sur la médecine vétérinaire et d'autres secteurs de la santé. Résultats: Les facteurs liés à l'emploi entraînant un repos insuffisant chez les travailleurs de la santé comprennent les charges de travail excessives, les journées de travail prolongées, les jours cumulés d'heures de travail pénibles et les gardes après les heures normales de travail. Ces facteurs sont répandus au sein de la profession vétérinaire et peuvent contribuer à un repos insuffisant généralisé et aux impacts négatifs qui en résultent sur la santé et le bien-être des vétérinaires. Conclusion et pertinence clinique: Une quantité et une qualité de sommeil suffisantes sont essentielles à la santé physique et mentale et sont négativement affectées par de nombreux aspects de la profession vétérinaire. L'examen critique des stratégies actuelles utilisées dans la pratique clinique est essentiel pour promouvoir l'épanouissement professionnel, la santé et le bien-être des vétérinaires.(Traduit par Dr Serge Messier).

A narrative review of the pathophysiology and impacts of insufficient and disrupted sleep.

Background: Despite substantial ramifications of insufficient sleep on mental and physical health and general well-being, many individuals are unaware of what constitutes sufficient sleep, or of the short- and long-term extent of sleep deficiency effects, including those that may not be perceived as fatigue. Objectives and procedures: This review describes the physiology of sleep, defines healthy standards, reviews the pathophysiology and health hazards of acute and chronic sleep insufficiency, and offers concepts for improving individual sleep hygiene. Online databases were searched to extract literature pertaining to sleep, sleep insufficiency, fatigue, and health, with emphasis on literature published in the preceding 5 years. Results: The detrimental effects of acute and chronic sleep loss vary in their range and impact. Individuals often obtain a substandard quantity of sleep, a problem that is poorly recognized by individuals and society. This lack of recognition perpetuates a culture in which sleep insufficiency is accepted, resulting in serious and substantial negative impacts on mental and physical health. Conclusion and clinical relevance: Sleep management is one of the most fundamental and changeable aspects of personal health. Improving awareness of the important physiological roles of sleep, healthy sleep habits, and the consequence of insufficient sleep is essential in promoting general well-being and mental and physical health.

Un examen narratif de la physiopathologie et des impacts d'un sommeil insuffisant et perturbé. Contexte: Malgré les ramifications importantes d'un manque de sommeil sur la santé mentale et physique et le bien-être général, de nombreuses personnes ignorent ce qui constitue un sommeil suffisant ou l'étendue à court et à long terme des effets du manque de sommeil, y compris ceux qui peuvent ne pas être perçus comme de la fatigue. Objectifs et procédures: Cette revue décrit la physiologie du sommeil, définit des normes de santé, passe en revue la physiopathologie et les risques pour la santé de l'insuffisance de sommeil aiguë et chronique et propose des concepts pour améliorer l'hygiène individuelle du sommeil. Des bases de données en ligne ont été consultées pour extraire la littérature relative au sommeil, à l'insuffisance de sommeil, à la fatigue et à la santé, en mettant l'accent sur la littérature publiée au cours des 5 années précédentes. Résultats: Les effets néfastes de la perte de sommeil aiguë et chronique varient dans leur portée et leur impact. Les individus obtiennent souvent une quantité de sommeil inférieure aux normes, un problème mal reconnu par les individus et la société. Ce manque de reconnaissance perpétue une culture dans laquelle l'insuffisance de sommeil est acceptée, entraînant des impacts négatifs graves et substantiels sur la santé mentale et physique. Conclusion et pertinence clinique: La gestion du sommeil est l'un des aspects les plus fondamentaux et les plus imprévisibles de la santé personnelle. Améliorer la prise de conscience des rôles physiologiques importants du sommeil, des habitudes de sommeil saines et des conséquences d'un sommeil insuffisant est essentiel pour promouvoir le bien-être général et la santé mentale et physique.(Traduit par Dr Serge Messier).

Maternal sleep deprivation induces gut microbial dysbiosis and neuroinflammation in offspring rats.

Maternal sleep deprivation (MSD) is a global public health problem that affects the physical and mental development of pregnant women and their newborns. The latest research suggests that sleep deprivation (SD) disrupts the gut microbiota, leading to neuroinflammation and psychological disturbances. However, it is unclear whether MSD affects the establishment of gut microbiota and neuroinflammation in the newborns. In the present study, MSD was performed on pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats in the third trimester of pregnancy (gestational days 15-21), after which intestinal contents and brain tissues were collected from offspring at different postnatal days (P1, P7, P14, and P56). Based on microbial profiling, microbial diversity and richness increased in pregnant rats subjected to MSD, as reflected by the significant increase in the phylum Firmicutes. In addition, microbial dysbiosis marked by abundant Firmicutes bacteria was observed in the MSD offspring. Furthermore, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were significantly higher in the MSD offspring at adulthood (P56) than in the control group. Through Spearman correlation analysis, IL-1ß and TNF-α were also shown to be positively correlated with Ruminococcus_1 and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 at P56, which may determine the microbiota-host interactions in MSD-related neuroinflammation. Collectively, these results indicate that MSD changes maternal gut microbiota and affects the establishment of neonatal gut microbiota, leading to neuroinflammation in MSD offspring. Therefore, understanding the role of gut microbiota during physiological development may provide potential interventions for cognitive dysfunction in MSD-impacted offspring.

Effects of acute lying and sleep deprivation on metabolic and inflammatory responses of lactating dairy cows.

Dairy cows that are restricted from lying down have a reduced ability to sleep. In other species, sleep loss is a key risk factor for disease, mediated by changes in metabolic and inflammatory responses. The cumulative effect of lying and sleep deprivation on cow health is unknown. The objective was to determine the effects of lying and sleep deprivation on metabolic and inflammatory responses of dairy cows. Data were collected from 8 multiparous and 4 primiparous lactating cows (199 ± 44 d in milk, 77 ± 30 d pregnant; mean ± standard deviation) enrolled in a study using a crossover design. Each cow was exposed to 2 treatments meant to induce sleep loss: (1) human disturbance (imposed by researchers making noise or physical contact when the cow's posture suggested sleep) and (2) lying deprivation (imposed by a wooden grid placed on the pen floor). Cows experienced a 24-h baseline period (d -1) followed by a 24-h treatment period (d 0), with a 12-d washout period between treatments. Baseline and treatment periods were imposed from 2100 to 2059 h. Cows were housed in individual pens during the acclimation period (d -3 and -2), d -1, and d 0. Nonesterified fatty acid and glucose concentrations were measured at 0300, 0900, 1500, and 2059 h on d -1 and 0. Proinflammatory cytokine mRNA [tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-1B (IL1B), and interleukin-6 (IL6)] abundance in whole-blood leukocytes, both nonstimulated and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide, were assessed at 2059 h on d -1 (end of baseline) and d 0 (end of treatment). Nonesterified fatty acids and glucose varied by time of day but were not affected by treatment or day. The abundances of TNF and IL1B from both stimulated and nonstimulated cells were higher following 24 h of lying deprivation (d 0) compared with baseline (d -1). Abundance of IL6 was increased in nonstimulated cells after lying deprivation compared with baseline. In contrast, human disturbance for 24 h did not alter TNF, IL1B, or IL6 abundance relative to baseline levels. These results suggest that a short period of lying deprivation generally increases inflammatory responses but not metabolic responses.

Effect of sleep loss on executive function and plasma corticosterone levels in an arctic-breeding songbird, the Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus).

Sleep is a fundamental component of vertebrate life, although its exact functions remain unclear. Animals deprived of sleep typically show reduced neurobiological performance, health, and in some cases, survival. However, a number of vertebrate taxa exhibit adaptations that permit normal activities even when sleep is reduced. Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus), arctic-breeding passerine birds, exhibit around-the-clock activity during their short breeding season, with an inactive period of ca. 4 h/day. Whether behavioral or physiological costs occur from sleep loss (SL) in this species is unknown. To assess the effects of SL, wild-caught male longspurs were placed in captivity (12L:12D) and trained for one month to successfully learn color association and spatial memory tasks. Birds were then placed in automated sleep fragmentation cages that utilize a moving wire to force movement every 1 min (60 arousals/h) during 12D (inactive period) or control conditions (during 12L; active period). After SL (or control) treatment, birds were presented with color association and spatial memory tasks a final time to assess executive function. Baseline plasma corticosterone concentration, body mass, and satiety were also measured. SL significantly elevated corticosterone levels and increased accuracy during color association recall but did not affect the overall time required to complete the task. SL had no effect upon spatial memory, body mass, or satiety. Taken together, these results suggest that Lapland longspurs exhibit a degree of behavioral, but not physiological, insensitivity to acute SL. Whether elevated plasma concentrations of corticosterone play a direct role in ameliorating cognitive deficits from SL require additional study.

Seizure-precipitating factors in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: Stress, sleep deprivation, and infectious diseases are important seizure-precipitating factors in human epilepsy patients. However, these factors have not been thoroughly studied in epileptic dogs. OBJECTIVE: Seizure-precipitating factors are common in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy and the occurrence of these factors associate with the dogs' signalment, personality, and epilepsy-related factors. ANIMALS: Fifty dogs with diagnosed idiopathic epilepsy from the hospital populations of University Veterinary Teaching Hospital of University of Helsinki and Referral Animal Hospital Aisti. METHODS: In a retrospective cross-sectional observational study, owners were interviewed about their dogs' possible seizure-precipitating factors according to a predefined questionnaire. The dogs were identified and selected by searching the medical records of the participating animal hospitals. RESULTS: The prevalence of seizure-precipitating factors in the study population was 74% (37/50). The most frequently reported factors included stress-related situations, sleep deprivation, weather, and hormonal factors. In dogs with focal onset seizures, the number of precipitating factors was 1.9 (95% CI 1.1-3.4) times higher compared to dogs with generalized seizures. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Seizure-precipitating factors are common in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy, and the nature of these factors is consistent with those of human patients. Aside from antiepileptic medication, acknowledging and avoiding seizure-precipitating factors could help veterinarians achieve better treatment outcomes.

Computational analysis of gene regulation in animal sleep deprivation.

Sleep is an animal behavior shared by a wide range of species, suggesting that it must serve fundamental functions. However, the functions and molecular mechanisms underlying sleep are largely unknown. Through a meta-analysis of all available short-term sleep deprivation (SD) microarray data in mouse brain, we identified 91 key mouse SD-affected genes and two RBM3 isoforms showing opposite changes of expression during SD. Although most of the key SD-affected genes showed consistent changes of expression during SD across brain subregions despite their heterogeneous basal expression levels, we also identified the genes whose SD responses strongly depend upon the brain subregion. A gene regulatory network was also constructed for these genes showing that cAMP-responsive element (CRE) is one of the key cis-regulatory elements controlling SD-affected genes. We observed that SD during an animal's normal sleeping time could significantly disturb the circadian oscillation of clock genes. Surprisingly, synaptogenesis markers were significantly underexpressed in SD mice, differing from the previous findings in rat and fly. Comparing SD microarray data in mouse, rat, sparrow, and fly, we identified Egr and Nr4a gene families as conserved SD-affected genes, thus shedding new light on the origin of sleep in animals.

Sleep deprivation in the pigeon using the Disk-Over-Water method.

A well-defined sleep deprivation (SD) syndrome has been observed in studies with rats under conditions of severe sleep loss on the Disk-Over-Water (DOW) apparatus. Observation of the sleep deprivation syndrome across taxa would assist in the elucidation of the function of sleep. In the present study, the effects of total sleep deprivation were assessed in pigeons, a biologically relevant choice given that birds are the only non-mammalian taxon known to exhibit unequivocal rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and non-REM (NREM) sleep. Pigeons were deprived of sleep for 24-29 days on the DOW by rotating the disk and requiring them to walk whenever sleep was initiated. Control (C) birds were also housed on the DOW and required to walk only when the deprived (D) birds were required to walk due to sleep initiation. NREM and REM sleep amounts were reduced from baseline during the deprivation for both D and C birds, although D birds obtained less NREM sleep than controls. Across the deprivation, D birds had their total sleep reduced by 54% of baseline (scored in 4 s epochs), whereas previous studies in rats on the DOW reported total sleep reduction of as much as 91% (scored in 30 s epochs). Pigeons proved to be more resistant to sleep deprivation by the DOW method and were much more difficult to deprive over the course of the experiment. Overall, the pigeons showed recovery sleep patterns similar to those seen in rats; i.e., rebound sleep during recovery was disproportionately composed of REM sleep. They did not, however, show the obvious external physical signs of the SD syndrome nor the large metabolic and thermoregulatory changes associated with the syndrome. The DOW method was thus effective in producing sleep loss in the pigeon, but was not as effective as it is in rats. The absence of the full SD syndrome is discussed in the context of limitations of the DOW apparatus and the possibility of species-specific adaptations that birds may possess to withstand or adapt to conditions of limited sleep opportunity.

Noradrenergic system interacts with genital reflexes induced by cocaine in paradoxical sleep-deprived male rats.

Different doses of alpha-1, alpha-2, beta-1, and beta-2 adrenoceptor agonists or antagonists were administered to paradoxical sleep-deprived (PSD) rats prior to cocaine administration. Methoxamine reduced the percentage of rats displaying erection, whereas prazosin did not. Yohimbine significantly decreased this percentage. For beta-1 adrenoceptor drugs, both compounds reduced the percentage of rats displaying erection at the highest dose; beta-2 adrenoceptor drugs had no effect. Except for clonidine, all drugs significantly reduced the frequency of erection. Ejaculation was significantly decreased following yohimbine and beta-1 drugs, whereas it was completely abolished by prazosin. The results showed that noradrenergic drugs inhibited genital reflexes in PSD rats, with distinct responses in relation to their respective action over the adrenoceptor.