Calendar: Holidays over Body: No, not yet

The Spring Festival holiday was like a tornado

The seven-day holiday is gone.

Ha ha ha ha

After the holiday

How are you doing on your first day at work?

I want a holiday, not work.

I believe everyone is still

I am still not satisfied with my vacation

No spirit

Inability to concentrate

In this situation

You may have met a match.

biological clock

Biological clocks are closely related to our health. When they are not "aligned", we will encounter various situations. How to defeat them or even make good use of them? Let's first understand this opponent!

Part 1

Lift your veil

Biological clocks are extremely common in the biosphere.

Various environmental factors such as light, temperature, magnetic field, weather, food sources, etc. periodically affect them, making them show rhythmic characteristics of days, months, years and more time scales. Our ancients have long been aware of the importance of biological clocks, such as the twelve-hour health regimen.

So how do we deal with this clock today when the environment, diet, work system, traffic conditions, social pressure, etc. are so different?

Illustration: Zhou Yixun

Part 2

Let me see your face

The biological clock system has a hierarchical structure.

The biological clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the brain is the emperor, which controls and regulates the operation of biological clocks in other parts. Other parts of the brain, including the pineal gland, retina, pituitary gland, paraventricular nucleus, etc., also have their own biological clocks. They are like officials of the central government, obeying the SCN and issuing orders to various biological clocks outside the brain (such as the liver, heart, blood vessels and adipose tissue, etc.), that is, local officials. These local officials, in turn, respond to the environment and behavior by regulating the periodic expression of rhythmic genes in cells within their jurisdiction.

The working mode of the entire biological clock system is generally "submit a letter - issue a letter - execute - feedback". The reward and punishment system in this country is very strict. If one person makes a mistake, almost everyone will be punished. This is because the physiological functions of the body may become pathological due to the disorder of the biological clock in one part, such as metabolic disorders, aging, emotional damage, cardiovascular diseases and endocrine disorders.

The biological clock system has a hierarchical structure. Illustration: Li Xinlei

Part 3

Each one breaks through

Retinal biological clock:

Early morning light speeds up the retinal clock, helping us wake up early, while evening light slows down the retinal clock, keeping people active for a certain period of time until they fall asleep.

The main reason for elderly people having sleep disorders is due to eye degeneration and aging of the retinal biological clock. Letting them receive enough light will help improve their sleep, cognitive ability, memory and mood. And protecting the health of the eyes will greatly improve our sleep quality. So, don't be lazy, do eye exercises now!

Pineal and pituitary clocks:

The pineal gland secretes melatonin and serotonin alternately.

Melatonin is a natural magic medicine for beauty and anti-aging. It secretes melatonin at night to promote sleep. In the morning, melatonin secretion decreases and the body begins to wake up. Serotonin is a substance that helps produce pleasant emotions. It is secreted more during the day and less at night. It is also affected by diet: choosing a lunch with high protein content will help us work efficiently during the day, while a dinner with high carbohydrate content can ensure better sleep.

Growth hormone secreted by the pituitary gland generally reaches its peak between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. It is important for increasing bone density, improving blood lipids, protecting cardiovascular health, improving immune function, and improving skin.

Therefore, for children and teenagers, at least 8 hours of sleep is necessary. As for adults, if you get a good night's sleep and eat right, you can throw away the facial mask and caffeine at hand!

Brain activity rhythm:

Generally, the best time for people to think is between 10 am and 12 pm. It is suitable for arranging the most complex and important work. This is because the secretion of cortisol (adrenal secretion) is the largest in the morning, which has a strong reminder effect on the brain. However, because it does not last long, we usually need a nap in the afternoon.

Did you know that car accidents caused by afternoon drowsiness account for about 25% of highway accidents, so if you have to drive after 2 pm, it is best to take a nap for about 20 minutes or drink a few cups of coffee in advance.

Food Clock :

It is located in the hypothalamus and is generally in a resting state. It is not controlled by the SCN, but it can affect the function of the SCN, just like the empress dowager controls the emperor.

Therefore, people who need to adjust to jet lag can do this: first continue to be hungry for about 16 hours, restart the food clock, and then eat according to local dietary rules, using its function to override the core biological clock to quickly put the body into the best condition.

Heart biological clock:

Our hearts are indeed fragile and sensitive. Changes in a variety of hormones and inflammatory factors can make us "sad." For example, adrenaline, norepinephrine and glucocorticoids, they periodically regulate the contraction and expansion of the heart and blood vessels. A sharp increase in adrenaline secretion due to emotional excitement in a short period of time will cause a sharp contraction of the heart, which is undoubtedly a dangerous bomb for patients with hypertension. Emotions such as depression, anxiety, and pessimism can also lead to dysregulation of the secretion rhythm of these hormones and other immune factors, which in turn leads to a disorder in the working rhythm of the heart and increases the risk of disease.

So, smile and your heart will not grow old; move and your heart will be healthy!

Blood pressure biological clock:

Normal people's blood pressure usually reaches its highest point within three hours after waking up, and gradually drops to its lowest point after falling asleep at night. In addition, blood viscosity is highest in the morning, so for patients with three highs and heart disease, the pressure of heart blood supply and the impact on blood vessel elasticity are the greatest during this period, and the threat to life is also the greatest. Data shows that the incidence of heart disease between 6 am and noon is at least three times that of other time periods.

For patients with hypertension who need to take medication for a long time, the best time to take medication is after getting up in the morning. However, for patients with severe hypertension, the rhythm of blood pressure is completely disrupted, and they need to determine the time of taking medication according to changes in personal indicators. This can not only achieve a good blood pressure lowering effect, but also reduce the side effects of the drug.

Another way to improve blood pressure is to exercise, but remember that exercising around 7 pm is best for improving blood pressure.

Liver biological clock:

If you love drinking or often need to attend occasions that require drinking, or have an uncontrolled diet, then you should pay attention to your liver.

As the center of metabolism, detoxification, energy storage and release, the liver's function is generally at its highest during sleep. Therefore, people who cannot sleep properly between 11pm and 5am cannot effectively metabolize toxins in the body, nor can they adjust the overall metabolic distribution. For those who have a disordered lifestyle, overeating, and sleep disorders for a long time, fatty liver, cirrhosis, alcoholic liver, and even liver cancer may come to you. And don't blame acne for growing on your face.

It is worth mentioning that because the liver function increases after nightfall, drinking the same amount of alcohol around 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening will cause much less damage to the body, especially the brain, than drinking it at noon. Drinking at noon will not only make your brain sleepy and lack of energy, but also cause much greater damage to the liver. What are you waiting for? Postpone your drinking to the evening, but remember to drink in moderation!

Metabolic clock:

It is human nature to love beauty, and it is human instinct to eat. Faced with a dazzling array of delicious food, should I eat? Or eat? Or eat?

Do you know "leptin"? It is the key selling point of various weight loss products. It can regulate the metabolism of substances and energy in our body, reduce food intake, promote energy release, inhibit the formation of fat cells, and is a good weight loss agent. Its secretion and activity reach the highest level during sleep, so if you don't get enough sleep, the leptin content in your blood will decrease, and your weight will increase.

What should we do? First of all, we must eat a good breakfast. After eating breakfast, the leptin level rises, which can suppress your desire to eat;

Second, get enough sleep. As the saying goes, a good night's sleep makes you slim and beautiful.

Third, reduce stress, lose weight and exercise more. Stress will make the body ignore leptin signals, obesity will inhibit leptin production, and exercise can not only lose weight but also relieve stress, so don't be lazy;

Fourth, a low-fat diet. Low-fat foods not only have low energy, but can also stimulate more leptin production. Also, don't go on a diet. Obese people can reduce their calorie intake to 25% to 60% of their previous diet. For people who are not obese, if fat and protein are excluded, the nutrition will be monotonous, which will not be conducive to leptin production and will also damage nerve and immune functions. Therefore, it is best to eat small meals frequently.

Fifth, drink less alcohol, because alcohol will inhibit the secretion of leptin.

In fact, these practices are not only useful for leptin, but also important for maintaining the biological clock balance of key metabolic hormones such as adiponectin, insulin, and gastrin. Only by maintaining the biological clock balance of these hormones at the same time can you maintain a good figure, make you more confident, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. So, why not do it?

There is a saying in the West: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. Maybe you should give it a try.

Figure: Human circadian rhythm timetable (for healthy people with a normal day and night life pattern of "6 or 7 am to 10 or 11 pm") (Drawing: Xiao Yuan)

There's more to the story of the biological clock than meets the eye.

In the past 20 years, chronotherapy has attracted the attention of more and more researchers. For example, using the characteristics of the biological clock to treat cancer has achieved good results in reducing chemotherapy damage to normal cells, increasing the killing rate of cancer cells, and improving other symptoms of cancer patients.

In addition, some schools have applied the characteristics of students' biological clocks to the design of courses, thereby improving students' learning efficiency and effectiveness. In short, more and more people have realized the importance of biological clocks to human health. Come and adjust your health clock and make your own health plan.

Produced by: Science Popularization China

Produced by: Han Feifei (Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Producer: Computer Network Information Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences

(The images with source indicated in this article have been authorized)

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