Circadian Rhythms: How Do They Influence Our Health?
Circadian rhythms can be compared to an internal clock that all living things have. The human being is part of that global ecosystem and that is why people also synchronize with the environment.
This synchronization is achieved thanks to circadian rhythms. These mark the beginning and end of various physiological processes that take place in daily cycles and that respond, in particular, to two variables: light and dark.
Animals, plants and even the tiniest of microbes have this internal clock, which allows them to synchronize their activity with the rotational movement of the earth. Its processes make up a 24-hour biological periodicity, and the study of these phenomena is known as chronobiology.
The name circadian rhythms was coined by Franz Halbert, who introduced this term in 1950. However, the subject had been studied since the mid-nineteenth century. Some of the scientists who developed this concept in depth were Jeffrey C. Hall, Michel Rosbald and Michel Young, in 1980.
How do circadian rhythms work?
The circadian system is made up of a visual component, represented by photoreceptors. These generate a signal called “circadian”, which reaches the effector systems; These are a network that secretes certain substances when it receives a specific stimulus.
The signal or information reaches the brain; there it is processed through an area called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Once this happens, orders are issued to the rest of the organism to carry out the corresponding synchronization.
Depending on your circadian rhythms, you are hungrier at certain times of the day or you feel more sleepy. The timing of that internal clock is what determines how much energy is needed at each moment of the day. Thanks to this, metabolism processes can be regulated.
These rhythms are part of the biological clock, which is an innate time device, which is present in all organisms. There are three biological clocks:
- Circadian rhythms. They are cycles of 24 hours, approximately.
- Infraradian rhythms. They have more than 24 hours; an example is the menstrual cycle, 28 days.
- Ultradian rhythms. They last less than 24 hours; example of these are the phases of sleep.