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Day Light & Dark Night - Light & Our Bodies 

Circadian Research

​Disclaimer - Not intended for medical advice, consult your doctor.

Circadian System Explained - Learning Objectives

  • What are ways to research Circadian Cycle?
  • What are some current studies?
  • Why are nocturnal animals used to reserach circadian system?​
  • Circadian research topics?

You can participate in research -'myCircadianClock' app - click here. 

mycircadianclock.org website
Download the app 'myCircadianClock'

Circadian Code Book

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 The Circadian Code, By Satchin Panda, PhD - [link to book]
Dr. Satchin Panda is a leading expert in the field of circadian rhythm research. He is a Professor at the Salk Institute and a, founding executive member of the Center for Circadian Biology at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Panda is a Pew Scholar and a recipient of the The Julie Martin Mid-Career Award in Aging Research.

Beginning with an in-depth explanation of the circadian clock—why it’s important, how it works, and how to know it isn’t working--The Circadian Codeoutlines lifestyle changes to make to get back on track. It’s a concrete plan to enhance weight loss, improve sleep, optimize exercise, and manage technology so that it doesn’t interfere with your body’s natural rhythm. Dr. Panda’s life changing methods show you how to prevent and reverse ailments like diabetes, cancer, and dementia, as well as microbiome conditions like acid reflux, heartburn, and irritable bowel disease.

Circadian System

Our ancestors evolved under the natural cycles of day-light and dark -night. Light is energy that influences mind and body - many chemicals in our bodies are controlled by light. 

Premature babies thrive under simulated sunrise to sunset - where the light changes color throughout the day, and they have a dark night sleep. Studies have shown them growing at a rate 50% faster than those under constant bright illumination. [1]  This makes sense, since we grow and heal while we sleep, naturally in the dark.

Melatonin is produced at night to direct our bodies to sleep. Exposure to blue tinted light can delay sleep for as much as two hours.
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This Biological Clock diagram represents the natural circadian rhythm of a human day and night.

"A circadian rhythm /sɜːrˈkeɪdiən/ is any biological process that displays an endogenous, entrainable oscillation of about 24 hours. These 24-hour rhythms are driven by a circadian clock, and they have been widely observed in plants, animals, fungi, and cyanobacteria." [1]

2017 Nobel Prize for Circadian Rhythm Research

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The circadian clock anticipates and adapts our physiology to the different phases of the day.  Our biological clock helps to regulate sleep patterns, feeding behavior, hormone release, blood pressure, and body temperature.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2017, for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm
Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, Michael W. Young [3]

https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2017/advanced-medicineprize2017.pdf

Circadian Brain

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Brain Signals

The controller of our Circadian System producing Melatonin is the Pineal Gland, this part of the Endocrine System, sometimes referred to as the 'third eye' is located deep inside our brain, directly above the optic chiasm. . It receives signals though our eyes, collecting information about light intensity and color via the optic nerves.  "Suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), located in the hypothalamus above the optic chiasm."

Hormones - Melatonin and Serotonin, are created in our bodies to signal us to sleep and wake.

Cyto-architecture is a biology term used to describe the study of the arrangement of cells and how this affects the performance of each organ. Often referred to as study of the brain structure, 'cyto' means 'cells' and 'architecture' originates from Greek arkhitekton 'master builder.' Studying the architecture of the brain,  is analogous to the study of buildings, their manner of construction and the arrangement of their parts. As recently as 2002 scientists discovered photoreceptors called ganglion cells (RGC) in our eye's retina that respond to light and send signals to our circadian system.  Scientists continue to search for understanding of the brain circuits, receptors, and their functions. [4]
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Circadian Response Curve
Blue light will keep you awake.

Use amber or red night lights.
Circadian rhythm sleep disorders, such as jet lag syndrome and shift work sleep disorder, are those specifically attributed to dysfunctions or insufficiencies in the circadian system. Taking into consideration the preeminence of the circadian clock in timing sleep, it is likely that other sleep disorders, such as insomnia, are also linked to circadian system abnormalities. [5]

Quantifying Circadian Light and Its Impact

February 13, 2017 article featured in Architectural Lighting Magazine
http://www.archlighting.com/technology/quantifying-circadian-light-and-its-impact_o
Melanopic lux is the wrong metric for describing circadian-effective light. Here is a better alternative. By Mariana Figueiro, Mark Rea 
  • Mariana Figueiro, FIES, is a professor at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she also directs the Light and Health program.
  • Mark Rea, FSLL, is a professor at the Lighting Research Center and has served as its director since its founding in 1988.

​2014 Nobel Prize in Physics

Blue LEDs – Filling the world with new light Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura are rewarded for inventing a new energyeffcient and environment-friendly light source – the blue light-emitting diode (LED). In the spirit of Alfred Nobel, the Prize awards an invention of greatest beneft to mankind; by using blue LEDs, white light can be created in a new way. With the advent of LED lamps we now have more long-lasting and more effcient alternatives to older light sources.
https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2014/popular-physicsprize2014.pdf
Blue Light Dimming cell phone and computer apps are available to shift computers and cell phones to dimmer warmer light after dark. Twilight is one example.

Footnotes

  1. Mark Rea, Director of the Lighting Research Center (LRC) and Professor of Architecture and Cognitive Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Presentation Lightfair 2006 Current standards described in Lighting for Today's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. 2010 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1527336910000322
  2. Circadian Rhythms in Humans, Animals, & Plants. https://islandpress.org/book/ecological-consequences-of-artificial-night-lighting?utm_source=Light+Pollution+and+islandpress.org/book/ecological-consequences-of-artificial-night-lighting?utm_source=Light+Pollution+and+the+Ecological+Consequences+of+Artificial+Night&
  3. "The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Press Release". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 14 Nov 2017. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2017/press.html>
  4. Brown University, Department of Neuroscience    https://neuroscience.brown.edu/Berson/research.html
  5. The human circadian system in normal and disordered sleep.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16336035

Photo Credits

Human Biological Clock - Wiki
Circadian Brain - CTC - http://braintreatmentcenter.com/

Circadian Clock© The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Illustrator: Mattias Karlén.
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Light Therapy, Nightlights, Sleep, Blue Dimming Apps, Ecology of Night Lighting, Dark Sky

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  • Home
  • Color & Perception
    • CHROMA Topics
    • Color Spectrum - Light is Energy
    • Color in Light
    • Color in Nature
    • Color in Paint
    • Why does paint fade?
    • Color Names & Meanings
    • Color Phenomena
    • Color Perception is Individual
    • Color In Fashion
    • Color for your home
    • Color in Space
    • Color Blindness
    • Color Blind Interview
    • Synesthesia
    • Synesthete Deborah Borrowdale-Cox
    • Synesthete Stephen Orr, BH&G Editor
  • Circadian & Light for Health
    • Circadian & THERAPY Topics
    • Circadian Explained
    • Circadian Ganglion Cells
    • Circadian Melatonin
    • Circadian Animals
    • Circadian Research
    • Autism & Lighting for the Spectrum
    • Blue Light Dimming Apps
    • Red Night Lights
    • Vitamin D & Light
    • SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder
    • Alzheimers and Light Therapy
    • Photosensitivity - Light Sensitive Drugs
    • Red Light Therapy
    • Sleep & Lighting
    • Dreams and Second Sleep
    • NASA - Lighting in Space & Undersea
    • Jet Lag
    • Sunglasses
    • Chakras
    • Crystals, Minerals, & Gemstones
  • Lighting Design
    • LIGHTing Design Topics
    • UV Germicidal Disinfection Light
    • LED Lighting Facts Card
    • CRI - Color Rendering Index
    • LED TM-30
    • LED Kelvin Color
    • LED LPW
    • LED Flicker
    • LED Glare
    • OLED - Organic LED
    • Human Centric Lighting
    • Lighting with Daylighting
    • Lighting for Healthy Buildings & Zero Net Energy
    • Lighting for Healthcare
    • Lighting for Horticulture
    • Lighting for Hospitality & LED Retrofits
    • Lighting for Museums
    • Lighting for Seniors & Low Vision
    • Lighting Design Tips & Codes
    • Parking Lot Lighting
    • Solar Lighting for Humanity & World Health
  • Dark Sky Topics
    • Dark Sky & Light Pollution
    • Dark Sky - Ecology of Night Lighting
    • Dark Sky - Turtle Safe Lighting
    • Landscape Lighting
    • LED Street Lighting Retrofit in Davis
    • Dark Sky Ordinances
    • Dark Sky & Astronomy
    • Dark Sky Reserves
  • Lighting Research & Books
    • Lighting Research
    • Lighting Publications
    • Lighting Education
  • ABOUT ChromaTherapyLight
    • About Topics
    • About Trish
    • Contact & Disclaimer
    • Social Media
    • Newsletter
    • Guidelines for Guest Writers
    • Site Map
  • Davis Insectary Garden
  • Santa Barbara Mesa Insectary Garden