Sleep is an important part of staying healthy, but circadian rhythm disorder can stop your body from achieving the proper amount of sleep. If you are afflicted with this condition, you need to know how your biological clock works and how it is connected to your circadian rhythms. Learning what disorders can result from irregular circadian rhythms will help you determine if you should seek medical care.
Chronobiology
Physical, behavioral and mental changes that occur during a 24-hour period are referred to as circadian rhythms. According to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, these rhythms are primarily based on light and darkness in your environment. Circadian rhythms occur in most plants, animals and microbes. Chronobiology is the study of circadian rhythms, which are driven by your biological clock. Groups of interacting molecules in cells throughout your body are referred to as the biological clock that controls your circadian rhythms. These rhythms are controlled by natural factors within your body, but signals from your environment affect your rhythms as well. Light influences your circadian rhythms by activating and deactivating genes that control your internal clock.
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences explains that circadian rhythms influence your sleep patterns and your suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN, is your body's master clock. The SCN controls melatonin production, which is a hormone that signals your body to sleep. It is located just above your optic nerves, telling your brain what you see and relaying messages to your SCN about incoming light. When it is night time or there is less light, your SCN tells your brain to increase melatonin production, which makes you drowsy.
Heart Rate and Core Temperature
When you are physically active, your heart rate and core temperature elevate, and when your body is at rest, your heart rate and core temperature is reduced. According to the "Journal of Biological Rhythms," this non-synchronization of your core temperature and your rest-activity rhythm can cause misinterpretation of your rhythm waveforms. This abnormality occurs when your body adjusts to a new time zone or new work schedule, which makes it difficult to assess the impact of these schedule changes on your circadian system.
Considerations
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences reports that certain sleep disorders, such as insomnia, have been linked to circadian rhythm disorder. Depression, seasonal affective disorder and bipolar disorder have been linked to circadian rhythm changes as well. Research of biological clocks and how they work may result in effective treatment for sleep disorders, jet lag and other health problems. Research focusing on the genes responsible for circadian rhythms may also increase understanding of the human body and biological systems.
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