Light exposure is crucial to our physical and mental health, as this and future articles on this series will show.
But exposure to light can also be key. This tells our body to get up within the morning, when to poop, and what time is best to focus or be alert. When we’re exposed to light, we also control our body temperature, blood pressure, and even the chemical reactions that happen in our body.
But how does our body know when it is time to do all this? What does light have to do with it?
What exactly is the biological clock?
One of the important thing roles of light is to reset our biological clock, also often called the circadian clock. This acts as an internal oscillator, similar to an actual clock that ticks as you read this text.
But as an alternative of a ticking sound that you can hear, the body clock is a network of genes and proteins that regulate one another. This network sends signals to organs via hormones and the nervous system. These complex loops of interaction and communication have a rhythm of roughly 24 hours.
We don’t even have one clock, we have now trillions of biological clocks throughout our bodies. The central clock is positioned within the hypothalamus of the brain, and each cell in each organ has its own clock. These clocks work together to help us adjust to the each day light and dark cycle, adjusting our body functions to the time of day.
However, our biological clock shouldn’t be precise and works in a 24-hour rhythm (on average 24 hours half-hour). Therefore, the central clock needs to be reset every morning, signaling the start of a brand new day. That’s why light is so essential.
The central clock is directly connected to photosensitive cells within the retinas (back of the attention). This each day resetting of the biological clock to the morning light is mandatory for our body to function properly and be synchronized with the environment.
In parallel, when we eat, food also plays a task in resetting the biological clock, but this time the clock in organs apart from the brain, reminiscent of the liver, kidneys and intestines.
So it is simple to see how our each day activities are closely linked to our biological clock. In turn, the biological clock shapes the way in which our body works at certain times of the day.
What time of day?
Adapted from Delos, CC BY
Let’s take a better take a look at sleep
A naturally occurring brain hormone melatonin it’s linked to our central clock and causes us to feel sleepy at certain times of the day. When it’s vibrant, our body stops producing melatonin (its production is inhibited) and we’re alert. Closer to bedtime, a hormone is produced and released, causing a sense of drowsiness.
Our sleep too partially controlled By our genesthat are a part of our central clock. These genes influence our chronotype – whether we’re a “lark” (early bird), a “night owl” (late sleeper), or a “dove” (somewhere in between).
However, exposure to light at night, when we needs to be sleeping, can have harmful effects. Even weak light from light pollution could make us feel worse heart rate and how we metabolize sugar (glucose), may lead to mental disorders reminiscent of depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, and increases overall risk premature death.
The primary reason behind these harmful effects is that “wrong-time” light disrupts the body clock, and these effects are more pronounced in “night owls.”
This “inappropriate” light exposure has also been linked to the harmful health effects we regularly see in people working night shifts, reminiscent of an increased risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
What in regards to the intestines?
Digestion also follows a circadian rhythm. Muscles of the colon that help move waste they’re more lively in the course of the day and slows down at night.
The most important increase in colon movement begins at 6:30 am. This is one among the the reason why most individuals feel the necessity to poop within the early morning reasonably than within the evening.
The intestinal day-night rhythm is a direct results of the intestinal clock and the central clock (which synchronizes the intestines with the remainder of the body). It can also be influenced by when we eat.
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What about concentration?
The biological clock also helps control our level of attention and alertness by changing the way in which the brain functions at certain times of the day. Levels of attention and alertness improve within the afternoon and evening, but decline in the course of the night and early morning.
These fluctuations impact on performance and may lead to decreased productivity and increased risk errors and accidents during waking hours.
Therefore, it will be significant to perform specific tasks they require our attention at certain times of the day. This includes driving. In fact, the disruption of the circadian clock in the beginning of daylight saving time – when our body has not had a likelihood to adapt to the time change – increases the chance automobile accident, especially within the morning.
What else controls our biological clock?
Our biological clock influences many other features of our biology, including:
- physical performance controlling the activities of our muscles
- blood pressure by controlling the system of hormones involved in regulating the amount of blood and blood vessels
- body temperature controlling our metabolism and level of physical activity
- how our body deals with drugs and toxins By controlling enzymes involved in removing these substances from the body through the liver and kidneys.
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Morning light is significant
But what does all this mean for us? Light exposure, especially within the morning, is crucial for synchronizing our circadian clock and body functions.
Increased exposure to morning light does greater than just help us sleep well sanity AND reduces the chance of obesity. So increasing our exposure to morning light – reminiscent of going for a walk or eating breakfast outdoors – can directly profit our mental and metabolic health.
However, there are other features over which we have now less control, including: genes that control our biological clock.
