Table 2.
Factors | Symptoms | Changes in NA levels | References | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Environmental and Lifestyle changes | Light: Usage of light and electronic appliances/gadgets prior to and during sleep | Affects sleep onset, sleep quality | Increased, in LC and paraventricular hypothalamus | [138, 139, 149] |
Noise: Fragmented sleep because of noisy appliances or noisy environment | Daytime sleepiness, insomnia | Increased, in Serum and Urine | [146, 150, 151] | |
Temperature: Extreme temperature disfavors sleep depth | Sleep disruption, especially REM sleep loss | Increased NA level in blood | [20, 147] | |
Family/social support: Lack of family emotional support, childhood trauma | Psychological symptoms like anxiety, depression, suicidality, further effects sleep quality | Deficiency in NA and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) | [159] | |
Food habit: Eating heavy food in night may lead to indigestion and affects sleep | Indigestion, frequent awakening, and insomnia | Increased level in plasma | [143–145, 147, 148] | |
Shift work: Variable shifts timing in work | Circadian misalignment, insomnia or excessive sleepiness | Increased blood level of NA and cortisol | [149, 160] | |
Disorders | Cardio-respiratory: Asthma, cough, sputum production | Sleep disturbance, increased insomnia | Increased level | [71, 162–164] |
Stress, anxiety, and depression: Daily work stress, conditional anxiety | Light and brief episodes of sleep, difficult to achieve restful sleep, loss of interest and appetite, apathy, and suicidal thoughts | Extreme level of NA | [23, 71, 161, 165] | |
Alzheimer’s: Aging, lifestyle, family history, genetics, and head injuries | loss of interest and appetite, dementia, and sleep/REMS disturbances | Decreased level in many brain areas (difference in depressed and non-depressed AD patients) but Increased level in CSF | [4, 19, 21, 158, 166] | |
Parkinson’s: Exposure toxins, environmental factors, and genetic mutation | Impairs motor skills, sleep difficulties, cognitive problems | Loss of LC neurons and decreased level of NA in brain | [156, 157] | |
Drugs/Chemicals abuse | Caffeine: Consumption during bedtime induces alertness, temporarily blocks adenosine receptor | Maintain alertness, decreases sleep quality | Level of noradrenaline increases in brain | [141, 142, 155] |
Alcohol: Excessive drinking leads to increased awakening, sleep fragmentation | Increase in sleep-onset latency | Decrease in level of NA (however the release of NA is dependent on alcohol dose) | [142, 154] | |
Nicotine: Intake (smoking) during sleep time lead to alertness | Maintain alertness, decreases sleep quality | Increases level of noradrenaline, inhibits monoamine oxidase in brain | [142, 152, 153] |
LC locus coeruleus, AD Alzheimer’s disease, NA noradrenaline, CSF cerebrospinal fluid