Helen Burgess, PhD

Department of Behavioral Sciences, Rush Medical College

 

Rush’s Biological Rhythms Research Laboratory is an internationally recognized human circadian rhythms research laboratory. The laboratory was established in 1987 by Charmane Eastman, PhD, and is now directed by Helen Burgess, PhD. The goal of our laboratory is to understand human circadian rhythms across the lifespan, and in the context of clinical disease. We test practical methods to attenuate circadian misalignment at home and in the work place.

The circadian timing system regulates physiology and behavior over the course of a day. Everyday situations, however, such as shift work, jet lag and even waking to an alarm clock each weekday morning, forces us to be awake and try to sleep at adverse circadian times. This “circadian misalignment” between physiology and behavior can lead to decrements in physical health (e.g., sleep disruption, gastrointestinal distress, weight gain), mental health (e.g., depression, impaired learning) and poor health behaviors (e.g., diet, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine).

Our work focuses on measuring sleep and circadian rhythms in different contexts and then testing various interventions to reduce circadian misalignment to reduce symptom burden and improve overall health outcomes. We have extensive experience in the use of prescribed sleep/dark patterns, light treatments and exogenous melatonin treatments to reduce circadian misalignment.