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Circadian Rhythms

Your body has over 100 circadian rhythms that influence functions on a 24 hour cycle like temperature, hormones, heart rate and pain threshold. The suprachiasmatic nuclei in the brain regulates these rhythms through nerve cell firing. Zeigtebers like light, sleep, social contact and meals help keep the circadian rhythms on schedule. Circadian rhythms control sleep/wake cycles, temperature, hormone production, cardiovascular functions and pain tolerance, with peaks and troughs at different times of day. Getting consistent sleep is important to stay synchronized with circadian rhythms.

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262 views4 pages

Circadian Rhythms

Your body has over 100 circadian rhythms that influence functions on a 24 hour cycle like temperature, hormones, heart rate and pain threshold. The suprachiasmatic nuclei in the brain regulates these rhythms through nerve cell firing. Zeigtebers like light, sleep, social contact and meals help keep the circadian rhythms on schedule. Circadian rhythms control sleep/wake cycles, temperature, hormone production, cardiovascular functions and pain tolerance, with peaks and troughs at different times of day. Getting consistent sleep is important to stay synchronized with circadian rhythms.

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api-642709499
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OAC: Stage 2 Psychology

Circadian rhythms

Are you sleepy sometimes in the afternoon? Do you seem to handle physical
tasks more easily late in the day? If so, you already know about circadian
rhythms.

Your body has more than 100 circadian rhythms. Each unique 24-hour cycle
influences an aspect of your body's function, including body temperature,
hormone levels, heart rate, blood pressure-- even pain threshold.
Understanding how these cycles interplay is fascinating. And, in some cases,
you may be able to plan your day to take advantage of your body's natural
rhythms.

How your body keeps time - In your brain is a type of "pacemaker" called
the suprachiasmatic (soo-prah-ki-az-MAT-ik) nuclei. This area of your brain
regulates the firing of nerve cells that seem to set your circadian rhythms.

Scientists can't explain precisely how this area in your brain "keeps time."
They do know your brain relies on outside influences, "zeitgebers" (ZITE-ga-
berz), to keep it on a 24-hour schedule.

The most obvious zeitgeber is daylight. When daylight hits your eyes, cells in
the retinas signal your brain. Other zeitgebers are sleep, social contact and
even regular meal times. They all send "timekeeping" clues to your brain,
helping keep your circadian rhythms running according to schedule.

Rhythms control your day - Almost no area of your body is unaffected by


circadian rhythms.

Sleep and wake - It may seem you sleep when you're tired and wake when
you're rested. But your sleep patterns follow a circadian rhythm.
OAC: Stage 2 Psychology

You're most likely to sleep soundly when your temperature is lowest, in the
wee hours of the morning. You're also most likely to awaken when your
temperature starts to rise around 6 to 8 a.m.

As you age, your brain's "pacemaker" loses cells. This changes your circadian
rhythms, especially noticeable in how you sleep. You may nap more, have
disrupted sleep and awaken earlier.

Temperature - Your temperature is lowest when you're inactive. And activity


can make your temperature rise. But despite these factors, your temperature
also follows a definite circadian rhythm.

In the late afternoon, your temperature can be as much as 2 degrees


Fahrenheit higher than in the morning. And it will rise and fall even if you
never see daylight.

Hormone production - Almost all hormones are regulated, to some extent,


by circadian rhythms.

Cortisol affects many body functions, including metabolism and regulation of


your immune system. Its levels are highest between 6 and 8 a.m. and
gradually decline throughout the day. If you change your daily sleeping
schedule, the peak of cortisol's cycle changes accordingly.

Growth hormones stimulate growth in children and help maintain muscle and
connective tissue in adults. Sleep triggers hormone production, regardless of
when you go to bed. Production peaks during the first two hours of sleep. If
you're sleep deprived, production drops.

Cardiovascular system - More strokes and heart attacks occur in the


morning than at any other time of day. This makes some people wonder if
morning exercise is safe.

But experts contend morning changes in your body--not exercise-- may be


responsible for cardiovascular problems. Blood clots most rapidly at about 8
a.m.

Blood pressure also rises in the morning and stays elevated until late
afternoon. Then it drops off and hits its lowest point during the night.

These changes occur independently of physical activity. Exercise at any time


of the day is beneficial.

On the other hand, if you're training for athletic competition, you may have
reason to schedule that event later in the day. Athletes seem to perform best
in the late afternoon, when strength, body temperature and flexibility peak.

Pain tolerance - Athletes who compete late in the day may perform better
because they can "gain" without as much "pain." Pain tolerance is highest in
OAC: Stage 2 Psychology

the afternoon. One study shows tooth pain is lowest in the late afternoon, a
consideration when you schedule your next dental appointment.

Medication - Scientists are looking at how circadian rhythms affect the way
your body uses medications. One finding is that less anesthesia is needed to
cause analgesia or drowsiness when administered in the afternoon.

Experiments with cancer medications are trying to find the time of day when
the drugs are the most helpful with the fewest side effects.

Stay on schedule - Changes in daily habits such as a short night's sleep can
disrupt your circadian rhythms. You may be able to stay "in sync" by keeping
a consistent daily schedule.

Causes of biological rhythms


There are two possible causes of biological rhythms.
→ External events in the environment (exogenous) e.g. dressing
and undressing is a social expectation
→ Internally driven (endogenous)

Important parts of the Circadian system


Pineal Gland – it modulates the effect of light on the SCN

Melatonin – the pineal gland produces this hormone, and it acts as a signal for
light-dark. Its production is inhibited by light exposure

Disentrainment
Disentrainment is damage to the brain structures of the circadian system and
occurs when people are kept in light free environments for long periods of
time.

Why do we need sleep?

Eight hours of sleep a day seems like a colossal waste of time, doesn’t it?
After all, in the hectic world we live in, those precious hours could be put to
use responding to all those e-mails or hitting the spa. So why is sleep
important and why do we need so much of it?

We don’t fully understand the importance of sleep. What we do know is that


sleep is an anabolic, or building, process. And we think it restores the body’s
energy supplies that have been depleted through the day’s activities.

Sleep is also the time when the body does most of its repair work; muscle
tissue is rebuilt and restored. We know, for example, that growth hormone is
secreted during sleep. This hormone is important for growth in children, but is
also important throughout adulthood in rebuilding tissues.
OAC: Stage 2 Psychology

A Daily Tune-Up

Think of the body as a car. No car can keep going and going and going
without a tune-up or oil change. If it’s not tuned, the car may keep running,
but not as smoothly as it did when it was maintained properly. You can think
of sleep as your body’s daily tune-up.

Human beings can function without a full tune-up, but they will be in a state of
relative sleep deprivation and won’t be able to work or to think as well as they
do when they are fully rested. It’s like an engine that gets only four out of
eight spark plugs replaced and then runs sluggishly.

Sleep is also a time for restoring mental energy. We spend all day thinking
and creating, and that uses up our energy stores.

It is interesting that in dream sleep the brain is actually very active. And this is
where things get really theoretical. We’re not really sure exactly what dreams
accomplish. Some experts believe that dreaming is actually some king of
clearing out process. More sleep researchers think that dreams serve the
function of helping to reorganize and store psychological information taken in
during the day.

Not Enough ZZZ’s

One of the ways we have of understanding why we need to sleep so much is


to look at what happens if we don’t get enough sleep. It affects our
personalities and our sense of humour. We may become irritable and less
tolerant. Parents of small children often tell me that when they’re tired they
get irritated at the antics of children that might amuse them if they were
properly rested.

Lack of sleep clearly affects our thinking, or cognitive, processes. A sleep-


deprived brain is truly running on four rather than eight cylinders. If we’re
trying to be creative, the motor doesn’t work as well. We can perform
calculations, but not as quickly. We’re much more likely to make errors. It’s
because the brain’s engine hasn’t been replenished.

Sleep deprivation also affects us physically. Our coordination suffers. We lose


our ability to do things with agility. Sleep improves muscle tone and skin
appearance. With adequate sleep athletes run better, swim better and lift
more weight. We also see differences in immune responses depending on
how much someone sleeps.

The amount of sleep a person needs will vary from individual to individual. But
most people require around eight hours.

No one really knows how man evolved to sleep an average of eight straight
hours each night. Factors that influence human sleep patterns probably
include our physical size, muscle mass, brain size and the ability to think.

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