The circadian rhythm problem: what it's like to have a body that begs you to sleep during the day and keeps you awake all night long
Amelie Looker- 9 Min To Read
- Thursday, Apr 28, 2022
The circadian rhythm determines the physiological functioning of our body. But, far from being homogeneous, there are some interesting differences between people. Among them is the existence of morning and evening people.
This refers to people who feel more active during the day or at night, respectively. It is not just a matter of habit, but has a genetic and physical background. Moreover, it also has a number of important consequences for our health.
Owls and larks: evening and morning people
Yes, there is a difference between people who are more active at night and those who are more active during the day. So much so that there is a colloquial term to differentiate them: larks and owls. There is also a more technical one: morning and evening owls. While the former are more active in the morning, the latter are more active when the day wanes.
Morning people tend to wake up easily in the morning and start their activity with ease, quickly. As the day progresses, their performance declines. Under normal circumstances, they fall asleep easily in the evening and tend to feel tired in the absence of sunshine.
In contrast, evening people need more effort to wake up fully, feeling sluggish and sluggish in the morning. As the day progresses, they feel more clear-headed and mentally agile. When it is time to go to bed at night, they are more active and may take longer to fall asleep, although this is not decisive.
In general, these two habits obey two chronotypes. A chronotype is the name given to a particular circadian cycle, adhering to a particular rhythm. Chronotypes determine many behavioral as well as physiological aspects (everything is related, after all). These are not static and depend on our own circadian cycle.
The internal clock that determines everything
All living beings have an internal clock that determines the circadian functioning, that is, around the 24 hours of a day. This clock sets the daily rhythms, but also in the long term. This clock works internally, to a certain extent independently, but it is adjusted every day by certain stimuli. The main one is sunlight.
In order to function, the circadian rhythm activates a cascade of activities that affect the different organs in different ways. For example, the pancreas secretes more insulin during daylight hours, which should be when we eat, and works more slowly at night, when we should not need to eat.
The key player in the circadian rhythm is melatonin, a hormone in charge of controlling these metabolic cascades we were talking about or, in other words, controlling how our body behaves. This also affects our attitude and mood, of course.
What happens when our rhythm gets out of whack?
How do we acquire a chronotype? In general, our circadian rhythm is adaptive. This means that we can shape it according to our needs. How? By forcing ourselves to certain schedules. It is not an easy task, as we will now see, but over time this biological rhythm adapts and shifts. Thus, a morning person can become an evening person. Melatonin secretion will change their schedule and adjustments will be made by other types of stimuli.
The sun, which inhibits the secretion of this hormone, can cause an adaptation problem, but we have measures to avoid daylight in our homes. In short, we can adapt to this rhythm almost without complications, apart from going through an adaptation period. And what happens during this adaptation period? Or, in other words, what happens when a circadian rhythm goes awry?
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In the short term, people with a sloppy chronotype suffer from symptoms of fatigue and clumsiness, impetuous and poorly thought out decision making. In its most acute stages there are mood swings and there may be the beginnings of depression. Another more important issue, as we can imagine, appears at the physiological level. Indeed, not following our circadian rhythm can affect the metabolism in various ways.
Among other things, it affects various inflammatory diseases or metabolic problems of all kinds, including diabetes, fat accumulation, coronary heart disease or metabolic syndrome. In animals, we know that disrupting the circadian rhythm is ultimately not lethal. For humans, the answers are no better. Of course, this brings us to the question we started with: not everyone has the same chronotype.
The difference between nocturnal and diurnal
Some studies, such as this one conducted by the University of Granada, indicate that it is not right to force people with a certain chronotype to work outside their “natural” schedule. As we said, this can affect their ability to make decisions, due to a lack of cognitive control that causes impulsivity, to give just one example. But, if people can choose their time of activity, adapting their circadian rhythm, why would this be a problem?
Because, in reality, it is not always possible to adapt easily. First of all, like the whale that wags its tail, there are personality differences between morning and evening people, and these promote a habit, as this study from the Complutense University of Madrid shows. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The answer is not so important because, in the end, what really matters is the behavior that people adopt.
On the other hand, there is also another genetic question. The CLOCK gene, from Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput, encodes a protein involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms and was identified by Joseph Takahashi’s group in 1997. Interestingly, a mutation associated with this gene was found in 2008 whose effect is manifested in the personality of the person, which is more docile and compliant.
The CLOCK gene predisposes our chronotype to morning and evening. It does not mean that we cannot adapt to another rhythm, but that we have a certain tendency. This gene has also been linked to cognitive developmental problems, obesity and other metabolic issues. In conclusion, it is clear that our circadian rhythm is much more than a series of adjustable behaviors. There are a number of predefined patterns that cause us to tend toward one phase of the day or another. And, much more importantly, these characteristics are undoubtedly linked to our health.
Images | Unsplash