How the human body’s “internal clock” works, deciding when to eat, sleep and perform other vital functions

He The biological clock it is a term denoting Heart rhythms, a kind of “master pacemaker” that synchronizes the human body’s response to the passage of time. According to an article published Texas A&M UniversityThis system consists of approximately twenty thousand neurons in hypothalamusan area near the center of the brain that coordinates unconscious functions such as breathing and blood pressure.

This complex mechanism is not unique to humans, as “all vertebrates, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, have biological clocks, as do plants, fungi and bacteria.”

Signals from the hypothalamus travel to different areas of the brain that respond to light, including the pineal gland. In response to light, such as sunlight, the pineal gland stops producing melatonin, a hormone that makes you feel sleepy. Melatonin levels in the body typically increase after dark, causing drowsiness.

chronobiologythe study of biological rhythms has shown how the day-night cycle affects the human body and suggests changing behavior to take advantage of the internal clock. “Circadian rhythms influence health by regulating sleep-wake cycles, as well as fluctuations in blood pressure and body temperature.”details in the article. In particular, The endocrine system synchronizes with the cycles of light and darkness, releasing certain hormones at certain times of the day.

Heart rhythms They play a critical role in health and well-being by regulating physical, mental, and behavioral changes in twenty-four-hour cycles in response to environmental cues such as light and food. “People with mutations in circadian clock genes exhibit abnormal sleep patterns,” explains the article. Chronic mismatch between the circadian rhythm and external cues can lead to numerous physical and mental disorders, from obesity And diabetes type 2 before cancer And cardiovascular diseases.

The biological clock It also affects metabolism. One striking example is the hormone melatonin, produced by the pineal gland in response to darkness. Doctors recommend reduce exposure to artificial blue light electronic devices before bed, as this can disrupt the secretion of melatonin and affect the quality of sleep.

The time you take your medication can affect how well it works and the severity of side effects. Additionally, research suggests that eating at specific times of day, known as time-restricted eating, can prevent obesity and metabolic disease. “Chronobiology is evolving and will produce more research with practical applications and insights into health and well-being in the future.”they claim from Texas A&M University.

There is growing interest in how time of day affects the benefits of exercise. The study took blood samples from mice that exercised before breakfast in the morning or after dinner in the evening, and took samples from their brain, heart, muscle, liver, and fat tissue. They used a mass spectrometer to detect 600 to 900 molecules produced by each organ, creating an “atlas of exercise metabolism.”

Using this atlas, the researchers found that the time of day affected how each organ used energy during exercise. “Morning exercise lowers blood glucose levels more than evening exercise”the article reports. However, exercising at night allowed the mice to benefit from the energy stored during meals and increased their endurance.

Despite the differences between mice and peopleThe researchers believe their findings could help better understand how exercise affects human health and optimize it based on the time of day to achieve specific health goals. “We hope that this study will help develop exercise plans that will provide maximum benefit to patients with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions,” the study concludes. Texas A&M University.

To sum up, we can say that the science of chronobiology shows that Synchronizing our behavior with our biological clock can significantly improve our health. “There are proven ways to synchronize your internal clock for better health,” such as getting regular exposure to sunlight to produce vitamin D, staying active during the day, and avoiding caffeine and artificial light before bed.