Circadian Rhythms

So much is talked about our body clocks, how better sleep can improve our performance.  But how does this 'clock' work, and what the heck are Circadian Rhythms?

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences definition of circadian rhythms is:
"Circadian rhythms are physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s environment. They are found in most living things, including animals, plants and many tiny microbes. The study of circadian rhythms is called chronobiology."*

Quite a mouthful!  Bottom line is circadian rhythms are what controls our sleep / wake cycle in our discussion on sleep.  It is, if you will, our body's reaction to the environment, especially light and dark times. 

We can affect our clocks, however, the natural state will always want to reemerge.  To control when you see light or dark will affect the clock.  So a shift worker working a late shift should sleep in a darkened room during daylight hours.  The darker the room the better.  In fact all of us should try to eliminate light from our sleeping areas, something we don't always do so well.  Think cell phones, TVs, ipods, and the like that generate light and often we keep right next to our beds.

The master clock is located in the hypothalamus, near the optic nerves.  It is a dense group of nerves.  Besides sleep the clock also controls the release of other hormones, and controls our body temperature.  The clock is our brains hardware, loaded with certain software that will maximize our ability to cope with the environment.  Which is why paying attention to the circadian rhythms is so important.  We have talked about sleep cycles, and how these cycles are important to our over all well being and health.  Circadian Rhythms can affect our productivity, stress levels, and even our body weight.

According to NIGMS, the circadian rhythms also have a genetic component.  Which may help explain why different people require different amounts of sleep.  But don't be fooled and blame your 5 hour sleep nights to genetics!  You need to find the proper amount of sleep for your body.  In doing so, your body can maximize it's ability to respond to infection, stress, injury, or other important things that will make you happier, more active, and healthy.

Sleep Well!

*http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Education/Factsheet_CircadianRhythms.htm