Every organism has (from algae to zebras) Circadian Rhythm.  Nearly everything about how our body works is tied to biological clocks. Our clocks influence alertness, hunger, metabolism, fertility, mood and other physiological conditions. For this reason, clock dysfunction is associated with various disorders; like insomnia, diabetes and depression.

Some of the most common disturbances are night-shift work, artificial light and travel across time zones. Thus, when our Circadian Rhythm is balanced it helps in physical and mental health.

What is Circadian Rhythm?

The circadian rhythm is a 24-hour biological clock that is running in the background of the brain.

This means that almost every hormone, every brain chemical, every digestive enzyme and so on is pre-programmed to peak at a certain time of the day and then tap out at another time of the day.

Natural factors within the body produces Circadian Rhythms. However, signals from the environment also affect them. The main cue influencing circadian rhythms is daylight. This light can turn on or turn off genes that control the molecular structure of biological clocks. Changing the light-dark cycles can speed up, slow down, or reset biological clocks as well as circadian rhythms.

How Circadian Rhythm influences our lives

1) Night often brings life. Evolution has timed hormones to trigger labor and birth at night. When the mother and her newborn would be less vulnerable to predators. Studies have shown that natural deliveries occur more frequently in the hours after midnight than during the afternoon.

2) Morning often brings death. Our blood pressure is lowest around 3 a.m. When dawn breaks and when waking up our blood pressure rises sharply; increasing the risks of heart attack and stroke between 8 a.m. and noon.

3) Asthma often strikes hardest at dawn. One possible reason is that our bodies produce less cortisol, an anti-inflammatory steroid, during the night.

4) Allergies often flare when we wake. Sneezing and runny noses tend to be worse in the morning for 70% of people with allergies.

5) Our intestines, our stomach, and our gut have circadian rhythms, too. Late at night, just like our brain goes to sleep, our stomach and gut start to shut down. (If you synchronize mealtimes with your circadian rhythm you’ll get slimmer. Even if you eat the same type and amount of food without any schedule. )

6) Because circadian rhythm affects the sleep cycle, studying the circadian rhythm of individuals can determine if someone is a morning or a night person, especially in children. The assessment of a person’s circadian rhythm and sleep cycle is called a chronotype. Which is conventionally broken down into three groups: morning people or “larks,” evening people or “owls,” and those who fall in between, “neither.”

We cannot fall asleep and wake up at the same time. Nor can we simultaneously sleep and do heavy-duty digesting. The body needs time to rest, repair, work. Thus, it works on a set clock called the circadian rhythm. So, get enough sunlight, avoid bright lights at night, sync your meal times and sleep with sunlight to ensure balance in the body. 

Iti Jain

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