Topic #4: Circadian Rhythm

Healthways' Take - Cellular Mechanisms of Aging and Disease

There are three areas of Chronobiology:

1) High Frequency Cycles- Pulsating hormonal cycles multiple times per day

2) Daily Cycles- Sleep / Wake

3) Monthly and annual Cycles- Reproductive cycles

Circadian Rhythms are daily cycles that include any associated High Frequency cycles- reaching every cell.

The master clock is the Super Charismatic Nucleus – SCN- It is in the Hypothalamus, close to the eyes to sense light and cause melatonin release for sleep.

Connected to the pulsations of the SCN is:

1) Life Span

2) Cancer Susceptibility

3) Cell Cycle Progress

The SCN controls all other sub clocks downstream for all of our biological systems:

1) Sleep/wake cycle

2) Brain wave activity

3) Core Body temperature

4) Thirst/appetite

5) Hormone production

6) Cell regeneration

Disruption of Circadian Rhythm causes disease processes through dysregulation of biological systems- systems out of balance. Sugar, Alcohol, food within 3 hours of bedtime, stress, poor sleeping conditions, etc. will disrupt Circadian Rhythm by hours. Just 15 minutes of disruption is needed to initiate disease pathways.

Disruption of Circadian Rhythm results in Chronic inflammation and that initiates Chronic Catabolic wasting of cells, tissue, and organs. That causes the initiation of disease pathways in the biological systems comprised of those tissues. In time we receive a diagnosis of Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Arthritis, Irritable Bowel syndrome, etc.,etc.. Drugs are then prescribed to manage the symptoms, not cure the disease, and you are now officially a drug dependent, diseased patient taking the medications the doctor tells you to take. You have been sentenced to wear your disease like a badge of honor in “Pharmaceutical Symptom Management”.

Proper adherence to Circadian functions will allow your biochemistry to be in alignment with the master DNA code for Healthy Human biology. Ignoring Circadian Clock functions leads to Chronic dysregulation and disease of human tissues and biological systems.

Audio credit:

iStockphoto®, ©MulvadMusic, Warny