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Rewinding the Circadian Clock: 24-hour Bodily Cycles Are Not to Be Taken Lightly |
| Section: LIFE / HEALTH |
| Author: Christian Toto |
| Publication: The world & I online |
| Issue Date: 1/1/2005 |
| Size: 1,116 Words, 6,928 Characters |
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That morning light shining through the bedroom blinds does more than trumpet the start of another day. It triggers our circadian rhythms, telling the body's systems when to gear up for a new day and when to shut down. This biological clock stands under pressure from a technological age that often demands people work nontraditional hours. Others run into clock disorders for less obvious reasons, like hitting puberty.
No matter the cause, getting the body back in rhythm can be an important component of overall health. Washington, D.C., neurologist Dr. Marc Schlosberg says humans take their cues from the light and the dark but that biological clocks tick a bit longer than the standard, 24-hour day. Isolation experiments conducted on both humans and animals, in which someone or something is...
. . .
... that have to be in phase with each other, but we're making progress."
One group for which circadian rhythms play a more pertinent role is the blind, Lewy says. "Without light coming in, their rhythms drift another hour each day," he says. "A daily dose of a small amount of melatonin can cure that disorder ... help them sleep better and feel better."
© 2004 News World Communications Inc.
(806 of 6,928 characters)
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