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Sign UpYour circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock—and it plays a major role in sleep, energy, and health. Logan Pendergrast, Ph.D., gives a clear explanation of what it is, how it works, and why it matters when you’re on a nontraditional schedule.
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so our first question may be what is a
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circadian rhythm and what does that word
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mean well the word circadian comes from
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two Latin words the first Latin word
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being circa which means around and the
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next Latin word being dm which means day
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so we can think of our circadian rhythms
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as the rhythmic function of our body
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around a day now the circadian rhythm is
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a biological clock which is sensitive to
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our environment so our circadian rhythms
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operate by our perception of light which
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is transmitted through our eyes into our
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brain and then that transmission into
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our brain coordinates to the rest of our
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body and the area of our brain that
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receives this stimulus from our eyes is
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called the superismatic nucleus and that
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transmits information to another part of
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our brain called the hypothalamus which
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releases hormones that act on our body
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in various ways which we will talk about
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later in the lesson now our circadian
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rhythm functions to help us regulate not
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just our sleep but also our hormones
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such as insulin which is a hormone that
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helps us get rid of sugar from our blood
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and our general hunger as well as our
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body temperature and then other
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functions such as our mood and likewise
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our circadian rhythm is sensitive to our
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external environment through other
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factors than light such as what food
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that we eat what temperature it is
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outside and even the social interactions
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that we engage in
