Registration of Skin-Temperatures and Sleep-Wake Behaviour

We study the skin-temperature and circadian rest-activity cycles of 40 women in their daily life.

20 women with vasospasm and difficulties of initiating sleep and 20 women without vasospasm and no difficulties of initiating sleep.

Women without contraceptives will be examined in the luteal phase (i.e. in the two weeks before menstruation). The ambulant registry will be done continuously during one week with so called i-Buttons (IButtonTM, Maxim, USA). These will be fixed to various parts of the body (i.e. wrist, ankle, …) with Fixomull, a medical bond. Also the subjects have to wear a instrument for registration activity, the so called Actiwatch (Cambridge, UK). The data that will be gained from these instruments, shall help us to objectify sleep-latency and sleep-fragmentation ("sleeping-through").

Furthermore, the subjects obtain a sleep-and activity-dairy, that has to be filled before and after sleeping. At one day, that the proband can choose, saliva samples have to be taken by the subjects themselves. In the saliva, the concentration of melatonin will be qualified. The attained results could be used to establish a therapy with few side effects for people with difficulties of initiating sleep because of vasospasm.