archive for the ‘biology’ category
the enduring beat of circadian rhythms
Chronobiology…examines periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms and their adaptation to solar—and lunar—related rhythms.
These cycles are known as biological rhythms.
I developed a general interest in chronobiology when I first learned about Michel Siffre. By isolating himself in caves—without external cues to the passage of time—Siffre conducted several experiments on human life’s biological cycles. He tried to understand the fundamental and natural state of biological rhythms by observing his own sleep/waking cycles (amongst other things). I’m not sure how impactful Michel’s research was vs. other researchers but one thing is certain: his commitment was impressive.
My general interest in chronobiology has been amplified by recent international trips and by all-night software-design sessions. I’m unable to recover quickly from jet lag and I’m extremely irritable for several days if I don’t get a decent amount of sleep. I’ve also had co-workers levy small apologies for similar behavior due to working ’round the clock.
My own experiences plus recent news stories about air traffic controllers and pilots falling asleep on the job have me wondering: How fundamentally important are our biological rhythms? New information published in the January 27th, 2011, issue of Nature have shown that these rhythms operate on a cellular level and have done so for billions of years.
Two studies (cited below) have focused on sampling the production of peroxiredoxins to understand the clock cycles present in all living cells. One study looked at peroxiredoxin in human red blood cells while the other used marine algae.
the 24-hour circadian clock found in human cells is the same as that found in algae and dates back millions of years to early life on Earth
These body clocks have been passed down through eons of evolution. They work at the cellular level as well as the super-cellular level. They affect us consciously and sub-consciously.
So there’s the answer: your biological rhythms affect you more than you know.
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