Stupid daylight savings messing with my (already non-existent) circadian rhythm

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 If you're from Aus, you would know my pain of waking up at 6:30am but feeling like it's only 5:30am BECAUSE IT TECHNICALLY WAS until Sun 1/10 when we skipped from 1:59am straight to 3:00am, essentially losing 1hr of much needed beauty sleep 💀 Pair that w AFL Grand Finals long weekend in Vic and you have a miserable workforce and miserable students w morning classes/lectures/placements 😓 

In keeping w this awful phenomenon, I thought I would post about our body's natural circadian rhythms, certain physiological diurnal patterns, and why the 21st c. living style w overstimulation (screens, but also mental and physical) is a nightmare for our body's natural daily cycle 😑 

(yes, this is now how I spend a large portion of my free time now, yes, super nerdy, but who isn't in med, and no, don't believe any health profesh when they say they aren't nerdy, they are nerdy, just not like god tier nerdy w/in nerd popln LOL) 


What is the circadian rhythm?

- Body's natural 24hr clock that exists within ALL living things

- Stronger than any external alarm clock 

- Rhythm governed by exposure to light → light act as cues → sensed by retinal photosensitive ganglion cells that exist w/in retina (back of eye) → sends info about brightness in our surroundings to brain → brain = master clock → master clock processes info and tells mini clocks around body what to do (e.g. normal muscle paralysis during deep sleep so you don't act out dreams)

 

Some common physiological variations that follow a diurnal pattern 

1. Core body temp - can vary from around 37.5 at 10am to 36.4 at 6pm (for pre-menopausal females, core body temp also varies w the menstrual cycle) 

2. Serum (blood) insulin sensitivity - higher in morning than evening (hence why suggested that largest meal consumed at brekkie or lunch)

3. Serum cortisol levels - peaks ~30mins post waking up, gradually declines throughout the day 

4. Melatonin (super important for sleep) - secreted at night, peaks 3-4am


Why is it so important to not mess it up as much as possible? (rip night shift workers, people w certain visual impairments, and people suffering from sleeping disorders 😫) 

BECAUSE IT CAN HAVE BOTH ACUTE AND CHRONIC HEALTH CONSEQUENCES. Getting too much light exposure or exposure at the wrong times can confuse our master clock → disrupt cell rhythm → lead to 

1. Inability to focus, "brain fog" 

2. Irritability, foul mood 

3. Impaired executive functioning ability 

4. Acute sleep deprivation → physiologically experience similar sx to hangover 😱

5. Increased risk of cancer

6. Increased risk of heart diseases

7. Increased risk of diabtes

8. Depression


So make sure you try to get AT LEAST 7+ HR OF SLEEP A DAY 

(If a med student can mostly guarantee this, so can a lot of people) 





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