Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioral variations that follow a daily cycle and respond primarily to light and dark in an organism's environment. Sleeping at night and being awake during the day is an example of a circadian rhythm related to light. Circadian rhythms are found in most living things, including animals, plants, and many tiny microbes. The study of circadian rhythms is called chronobiology.
The concept of circadian rhythm is used in the field of biology to name the oscillations of certain biological variables in a regular time interval. This rhythm is also known as a biological rhythm.
Typically, the circadian rhythm is related to environmental changes that also develop rhythmically. In any case, it is an endogenous (internal) rhythm that can reduce or increase the duration of the interval according to the environment.
The easiest circadian rhythms to notice are those related to wakefulness and rest and eating patterns. A person is generally sleepy or hungry always at a similar time, since different circadian rhythms in their body trigger different mechanisms. If a human always eats lunch at 12, he may start to feel hungry every day as this time approaches.
Circadian rhythms can influence sleep -wake cycles, hormone secretion, eating habits and digestion, body temperature, and other important body functions. Biological clocks that run fast or slow can produce altered or abnormal circadian rhythms. Irregular rhythms are linked to a number of chronic medical conditions, including sleep disorder, obesity, diabetes, depression, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder.
Circadian rhythms help us determine our sleep patterns. The body's main clock or NSQ controls the production of melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy. It receives information about the light that enters the optic nerves, which transmits information from the eyes to the brain. When there is less light (such as at night), the NSQ tells the brain to make more melatonin to make it numb. Researchers are studying how shift work and exposure to light from mobile devices at night can alter circadian rhythms and sleep-wake cycles.
