How does altering day and night affect our health and body?

Author: [Author's Name] Reviewer: [Reviewer's Name] Curator: [Curator's Name] Production/Organizational Information: [Organizational Name]

Title: How does altering day and night affect our health and body?

Introduction: Late nights are common but threaten health, disrupting rhythms and increasing risks of obesity and diabetes. Maintain good sleep.

In the fast-paced modern life, staying up late to work overtime and engaging in all-night entertainment have become the norm for many people. Long-term disruptions to day and night seem to gradually be adapted to by individuals. However, do you know that this seemingly ordinary lifestyle is like a ticking time bomb hidden within our bodies, slowly eroding our health without us even realizing it? Once it explodes, the consequences could be unimaginable.

Long-term disruption of the day-night cycle can have various negative effects on the body. It can lead to sleep disorders, increased fatigue, and diminished cognitive performance. Additionally, it may disrupt the body's circadian rhythms, contributing to conditions like anxiety and depression. Immune function can be compromised, and there is also a risk of developing chronic diseases, such as obesity and heart disease, as metabolism and hormonal balance are affected. Overall, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule is crucial for physical and mental well-being.

Rhythmic disruption can lead to metabolic disorders and cause diseases.

Long-term disruption of the circadian rhythm can lead to metabolic disorders, which in turn increases the incidence of many diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. It may even raise the probability of sudden cardiac death.

Just show a chart where the vertical axis represents sugar levels, the horizontal axis represents time, the black line indicates the baseline, and the red line shows the disruption in rhythm.

Breaking the circadian rhythms that humanity has developed over many years of evolution is not advisable.

What factors influence rhythm?

Rhythm is influenced not only by sunlight but also by other factors, so it cannot be compared through time zone adjustments.

Regarding changing time zones, an important factor in our rhythms is the sun. When individuals change time zones, the solar cycle shifts to the new location; however, they still need to adjust their rhythms, so the impact isn't as significant. Conversely, staying in a dorm room does not bring about the same adjustments. Of course, if you can simulate the seasonal changes of the sun, you might be able to adapt since you would be controlling the variables.

The sun is not the only factor; it also involves the cyclical variation of temperature and the periodic changes in air composition (such as humidity, oxygen content, etc.). Furthermore, considering human adaptation, epigenetics may also play a role. It's all so complex; fortunately, I’m not an expert in rhythms.

There is actually a lot of research on the topic of circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are not just a simple form of regulation, nor are they merely about sleep; they involve metabolism, neural regulation (for example, the autonomic nervous system which cannot be consciously controlled), hormone secretion, sensory systems, and more.

What are the effects of a disrupted rhythm?

Circadian rhythm affects many genes, making it difficult to maintain long-term rhythms. The study I will mention below informs everyone that the circadian rhythm involves a significant number of genes.

This content is for reference only: I will provide an example article; this is a study from PNAS about rhythm genes in mammals.

This study looks into the expression of rhythmic genes in different organizations. This is a schematic diagram of these genes. Of course, some medications can also trigger changes in rhythm.

Finally, I like the image below, which is related to overall sleep. The deep blue in the center represents the recommended sleep duration. Light green is also acceptable, but orange is not suitable.

Taking the oldest segment of the older adult population as an example, this refers to individuals who are over 65 years old.

The best sleep duration falls within the deep blue range: 7-8 hours.

If the sleep duration falls within the light blue section, meaning 5-6 hours or 9 hours, that is also acceptable.

If the sleep duration falls within the orange section, such as less than 5 hours or more than 9 hours, then it is considered unreasonable.

References: Buxton O M, Cain S W, O'Connor S P, et al. Adverse metabolic consequences in humans of prolonged sleep restriction combined with circadian disruption. Science Translational Medicine, 2012, 4(129): 129ra43-129ra43.

Buxton O M, Marcelli E. Short and long sleep are positively associated with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease among adults in the United States. Social Science & Medicine, 2010, 71(5): 1027-1036.

Zhang R, Lahens N F, Ballance H I, et al. A circadian gene expression atlas in mammals: implications for biology and medicine. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014, 111(45): 16219-16224.

The cover image of this article comes from a stock photo library.

Reposting may lead to copyright disputes.