Ongoing research in the lab includes
examining the influence of chronic sleep restriction on human performance, the influence of space flight on sleep and circadian rhythms and the application of his research to
night workers - including medical residents and police - through the work of the Harvard Work
Hours, Health and Safety Group.
The researchers in the study were
examining nineteen different sleep patterns and found that the men sleeping for four
hours three
nights in a row had their blood fatty acid levels increased between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. which was actually a 15 to 30 percent increase in comparison to those sleeping eight and a half
hours each
night.