The Sleep and Performance Research Center welcomes Dr. Horacio de la Iglesias, PhD, University of Washington, to WSU Spokane. He will present his seminar entitled, “Lunar Modulation of Sleep,” in SAC 147 and via Zoom on Wednesday, April 15, at 10:15 a.m.
Throughout evolution and history, humans have progressively isolated themselves from natural cycles through built environments that isolate them from the external environment. Key to this isolation is our ability to manipulate artificial light and extend our activity into the nighttime. However, recent studies from our laboratory show that both the sun and the moon continue to shape our daily sleep even in highly urbanized communities. I will present data from human and non-human primates that provide evidence for the synchronization of sleep with both the solar day and the lunar month; surprisingly, synchronization with the lunar cycle is not explained by moonlight but instead by its gravitational pull.
Dr. Horacio de la Iglesias finished his undergraduate studies in Biology at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He earned his PhD in Neuroscience and Behavior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1997. He joined the University of Washington Department of Biology in 2003.
We look forward to you joining us in person (SAC 147) or through Zoom!
Questions/Zoom link? Contact Michelle Sanchez at michelle.r.sanchez@wsu.edu.
