Mental Health and Circadian Science Network

We will establish the Mental Health and Circadian Science Network, a new collaboration between researchers, clinicians, patients and the public that will be focused on driving discovery and innovation at the interface of sleep, circadian rhythms and mental health. We will integrate research and clinical expertise to create a new network that will identify priority areas for research and launch interdisciplinary collaborations.

Daily (circadian) rhythms are a fundamental feature of all life on earth, from plants to humans. These 24-hour rhythms exist at multiple molecular and cellular levels and allow organisms to align their physiology and behaviours to daily cycles of light and dark. Well-synchronized circadian rhythms are fundamental for human health and are particularly important for mental health. For example, the correct timing of exposure to light is critical for synchronizing circadian rhythms (such as the daily sleep/activity cycle) but patterns of modern living - such as shift-working and excess artificial light at night - cause desynchronization of rhythms and result in a wide range of adverse mental and physical health outcomes. This is particularly important for young people, who may be more sensitive to light-induced circadian dysfunction and associated mental health problems.

In recent decades, public health initiatives have successfully focused on diet, smoking/alcohol and exercise, but the importance of healthy rhythms of sleep and activity has been relatively neglected by the research community. Similarly, even though mental health disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder and psychosis have long been known to be associated with abnormal rhythms of sleep/activity, the mechanisms of these associations are poorly understood and the clinical application of discoveries in chronobiology to mental health has so far been limited.

In consultation with the research and clinical communities (and based on feedback and advice from patients and the public), we have identified four core areas of activity for the network, including: a) Setting the research agenda for mental health and circadian science; b) Setting standards for data collection, data curation and data sharing; c) Supporting Early Career Researchers (ECRs) working at the intersection of mental health and circadian science; and d) Building sustainability and new interdisciplinary grant applications.
For all these activities, The McPin Foundation will establish a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group to provide strategic input and advice, making sure that the work is relevant to the needs of the public, clinical groups and the research community.

Our goals are very well suited to a partnership grant. The UK has major research strengths in mental health, chronobiology, data science and sleep/circadian science but these activities are not currently well connected: we need to add value to these strengths by bringing together a diverse group of researchers, clinicians, patients and the public to maximize productivity and deliver long-term impact in the chronopsychiatry field.

Endogenous circadian rhythms exist at multiple molecular and cellular levels and allow organisms to optimally align physiology and behaviour to daily cycles of light and dark. Well-synchronized circadian rhythms are fundamental for human health and are particularly important for cognitive function and mental wellbeing. The correct timing of exposure to light is critical for synchronizing human circadian function but patterns of modern living (including shift-working and excess artificial light at night) cause dsynchronization of rhythms and result in a wide range of adverse mental and physical health outcomes.

Even though disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder and psychosis have long been known to be associated with aberrant rhythms of sleep/activity, the mechanisms of these associations remain poorly understood and the clinical application of chronobiological discoveries within mental health has been slow.

We will integrate research and clinical expertise in two main areas - mental health and circadian science - to create a network that will identify priority areas for research and launch new interdisciplinary collaborations.

We aim to create a new sustainable and inclusive social infrastructure of researchers and clinicians to drive innovation and impact. Our network expertise covers psychiatry, chronobiology, sleep, psychology, genetics, neurosciences, social sciences, clinical psychology and data science. The network includes co-applicants at six Universities in the UK, and collaborators in Ireland, the United States and Germany.

The four objectives, each representing a core area of network activity, will be co-led by two co-investigators and our extensive group of collaborators will be invited to contribute to these objectives, based on their interests and expertise. We will also establish a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group led by The McPin Foundation to provide strategic input into all network activities.