6 keys to live in sync with biorhythms

if observed temperature or motor activity of an animal over several days it is very likely that it will detect a well-defined oscillation.

If this same animal is moved to an isolated room, under constant ambient conditionsit will be seen that the oscillation is maintainedalthough with a period somewhat different from 24 hours.

This simple experiment suggests that there is clearly an internal clock.

What types of rhythms mark us?

Most organisms have internal rhythms that do not exactly coincide with the 24 hours of the daywhich forces them to “set the time” using some external time referencewhich is usually light.

To these references that are used to accommodate the external rhythm they are known by the German term zeitgeberfrom the German zeit (time) and geber (sensor).

Although the main one is light, there are others such as social contact, exercise, meals, or work hours. Some consider that the urban environment – ​​due to the influence of electrostatic and magnetic fields – could also interfere.

According to its duration The internal rhythms of the organism are classified as:

Cardiac rhtyms. They occur throughout a day (from the Latin circa and dia), in periods between 20 and 28 hours.Ultradian rhythms. They are given more than once a day in periods less than 20 hours: heartbeat, lung ventilation, etc.Infradian rhythms. They take more than a day to repeat themselves and exceed 28 hours: seasonal rhythms of some hormonal secretions, the menstrual cycle, etc.

According to franz halbergfather of modern chronobiology, all physical rhythms of nature have originated internal rhythms in the human being:

He rhythm-wake cycle corresponds to How long does it take the Earth to rotate on its axis? (24 hours).The menstrual cycle it takes more or less what the moon encircling the planet (28 days). And the annual cyclessuch as hypertension, are related to the Earth’s rotation around the Sun (365 days) and the passing of the seasons.

The sleep-wake cycle

More than 180 body rhythms are known. Virtually every cell, organ, and system has its own rhythm that fluctuates over periods of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years.

The best known life cycle is the one that regulates the succession of sleep and wakefulness. It is governed by basic circadian rhythmthat is, about one day.

On the other hand, the dream is organized in hour and a half cycles that embrace different phases:

The secretion of melatoninthe sleep hormone, It starts around nine in the evening.reach your peak between two and three in the morningtime in which deep sleep is reached.Between six and half past seven in the morningin a well-adjusted adult person, melatonin secretion ceases and the body prepares to wake up. The internal biological clock orders the secretion of activating hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. It also increases body temperature and blood pressure.At eight o’clockwhen she wakes up, she will be ready to start the day.

Morning or evening? a personal matter

The newly born they fall asleep and wake up often because they come into the world with a cycle shortened by about four hours.

As they grow, their rhythm matures, and after two or three months they have adapted to the rhythmic succession of day and night, and can sleep more often.

Then, over the years, a personal pattern is established within the general trend at each age.

Children and the elderly are usually morningsince they fall asleep and wake up early. Adolescents and young people tend to be evening: at night they are in perfect shape and in the morning it is difficult for them to wake up.

Despite everything, there seems to be a innate individual tendency to be more active during the day or at night, and it is very difficult to modifyeven if the maximum personal effort is put.

It’s hard for an evening guy to get up early, while a morning guy can get up effortlessly before 7 in the morning.

What other biorhythms affect the body?

Another of the best-known rhythms is that of body temperature.

It’s a endogenous rhythmwith a daily oscillation of about one degree between the minimum, which usually occurs around 4 in the morning, and the maximum, around 6 in the afternoon.

in the womanhowever, the temperature also keeps related to your menstrual cycle: the peak of temperature in the morning indicates the end of ovulation.

The heart rate it also varies: 15% between the lowest and highest values, which are recorded in the afternoon.

Similar changes occur in cardiovascular variables such as blood flow, cardiac output and blood pressure, heavily influenced by exogenous factors such as sleep, posture, food intake, and exercise.

The oscillations of muscular strength, flexibility and physical performance They are also interesting, since they show the predisposition of the organism to perform better the physical activities between 4 and 6 in the afternoon that first thing in the morning.

The secretion of hormones, enzymes and metabolic waste have more complex patterns. The rhythmic oscillations of all these bodily variables directly affect the degree of alertness and performance mental and physical of each person.

Thus, studying at night, attending a conference late in the afternoon or holding a sports competition in the morning will imply get lower results that if the moment of greater alertness and muscular strength is sought.

Why do we live out of sync?

The current lifestyle in the western societies completely conditions the functioning of internal rhythms.

The temporal references that are used are marked by very demanding schedules.

The disharmony between internal rhythms and personal and social habits forces the organism to continually set your internal clock.

This continuous “setting in time” generates metabolic stressin addition to going against your own cardiovascular rhythm.

If it turns out, when the body is primed for activity, it is forced to go to sleep and vice versawhen the pressure drops and the temperature rises, you have to start working and you must maintain concentration and alertness, it is clear that it goes against the current.

Productivity drops and errors grow, but also organic wear occurs which can take its toll.

Disturbances in circadian rhythms can be produced by exogenous agents and due to endogenous alterations of the circadian system itself, which is much less frequent.

Jet lag, traveler’s sickness

The time changes in the long distance air travel produce a picture of symptoms called jet lag which include fatigue during the day, loss of appetite, heavy digestions, lack of concentration, mood swings and insomnia.

In some people a change of three hours is enough, but in general it must be of five hours for clear symptoms.

The disturbances are due to the various rhythms of the body adapt to the new schedule at different speeds.

This produces schedule “decoupling” between the various functions the body, which causes most symptoms.

Since the endogenous period of the human body is close to 25 hours, it is easier to adjust when the period is longer (when flying west) than when it is shortened (when flying east).

For reduce the effects of jet lag Various measures have been proposed. The simplest are the exposure to sunlight at noon at the place of destination and practice exercise.

monday syndrome

During the weekend, due to the lack of social timers, the organism tends to follow its own endogenous rhythm of almost 25 hours, so that on Monday morning, when the usual time is recovered, the lag of almost three hours accumulated during the previous nights.

Although this mismatch has little incidence in the normal population, in some cases it can produce a perceptible decrease in level of care.

The solution for these cases is as simple as do not significantly alter the schedules during the weekend.

variable work shifts

generate disorders very similar to those of jet-lag.

It is common for workers subjected to this type of schedule to complain about sleep quality problemsin addition to other organic disorders that, over the years, can trigger serious illness.

In this situations the social problem is added which represents not being able to integrate into the activities of family members who follow normal schedules.

For this reason, it is common to adopt undesirable sleep-wake habits, in order to try to attend to both work and family life. The result is the disturbance of the circadian system.

Do biorhythms change with age?

As we get older, changes take place in the rhythms: the attenuation of hormone secretion peaks and phase advance are the most significant.

It decreases the production of thyrostimulating hormone (TSH), cortisol, growth hormone (GH) and melatonin. Nighttime awakenings and daytime sleepiness increase.

The loss of synchronization capacity as well as the instability of the periods makes it difficult to adapt to changes in rhythm.

Hence the people who surpass the barrier of 50 years tolerate shift work or jet-lag much worse than young people.

In short, the preservation of biological rhythms improves well-being and quality of life and can influence an increase in longevity.

How to live more synchronized with biorhythms?

If you work during the day and suffer drowsiness, tiredness, irritability, lack of concentration or insomnia, the rhythms are likely to be disturbed. To avoid this, you can follow some guidelines:

it suits expose yourself for a while at first light of day, or use a bright and intense artificial lightsimilar to solar. At dusk the opposite is recommended: reduce exposure to lighteven artificial. If you work at night, you have to get used to sleep in the morning completely in the dark and stay under daylight in the afternoon. It is good to keep this pattern during the weekend.Stand near a window It is useful when work activity forces you to go from bed to an interior space with artificial light. exercise first thing in the morning it is more effective than coffee to gain vitality. It is not the best time to compete, as performance and muscle strength drop, but activates the cardiovascular system and wakefulness hormones.

Always eat at the same time and having daily routines favors the harmony of rhythms. At breakfast it is convenient eat whole grainsas they release energy slowly and satiate longer.On long trips, wear a mask or keep your eyes closed during the journey can help in the process. Then it is convenient delay sleep until night.If we wake up early, it’s better stay in the dark in the room for an hour or until sunrise.The orthomolecular complements they can alleviate the desynchronization of circadian rhythms and premature aging…