Body Clock

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

 

Just saw a Dateline segment on body time, so I took notes.

 

It was an interview with a doctor from the Chronobiology Center at the

University of (at?) Houston, who has a new book called _The Body Clock_.

 

They are saying this study of the internal biological body clock is a brand

new discovery. Actually, it isn't... I remember a book called _Body

Time_ years ago... if you can find it in the second-hand bookshops, it's

well worth owning.

 

Though this isn't so new, I'm glad they're taking it more seriously and

doing more research into body time. Here's what he talked about tonight:

 

In an experiment a lethal dose of a drug was given to mice, some in the

evening, some 12 hours later... the evening mice were okay, and the mice

who got the drug in the morning died.

 

Usually - this is an important word here... it seems that for at least

some of these things, the times given are for most people... but there can

be exceptions.

 

Usually, in the evening the blood pressure decreases... in the morning it

starts rising. So taking the same bp drug around the clock isn't so

bright. New development... less drug at night, more in the morning.

 

Re. asthma.. hormones that contribute to asthma decrease at night... so

an asthma attack is more likely during the night. A drug regimen targeted

for night reduces night attacks by 50%.

 

Most heart attacks occur in the morning... because of the steep blood

pressure rise. Again, medicine needs to be adjusted to that.

 

The best time for the biggest meal of the day is actually breakfast...

calories are burned faster, not stored.

 

For exercise, the best time is afternoon. Joints are more flexible,

muscles are stronger, and there is less chance of injury.

 

The best time to conceive is in the afternoon... because sperm travels

more rapidly.

 

Re. tooth pain at the dentist... afternoon is the best time to get the most

out of pain medication.

 

The best time to drink and not get drunk... in the morning. The worst

time is late at night. Alcohol in the brain at night is metabolized more

slowly.

 

For an interactive quiz on your body time, go to

 

dateline.msnbc.com

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What I remember from the earlier book, _Body Time_:

 

The "normal" internal body clock runs on 24-hour cycles. Many people's

internal clocks vary from that a little bit, and since the necessary time

to get up usually doesn't vary, they have to adjust... and do. The more

your clock varies from 24 hours, the harder it is to deal with, and the

more likely it is to produce illness, either physical or mental. The

hardest work schedule to deal with is one where you change shifts often...

you just get adjusted to one time, and you have to change and start

adjusting all over again.

 

Some people whose clocks are off from 24 hours adjust more easily than

others. It's easier if you are able to go with it and wake up at your

natural time. One writer (who worked at home and could set his own

schedule) had such a regular moving internal clock that he could chart for

months ahead of time when he would be sleeping. So when someone invited

him to a dinner or party, he checked his written schedule to see if he

would be in an awake cycle then. )

 

(I'm having a problem with that right now... my clock has moved around to

where I sleep in the day-time... and I have a lot of things I need to do

that can be done ONLY in the day-time when other people are awake and

functioning. And trying to get up and do them in day-time feels like

trying to do it in the middle of the night... I can hardly stay awake,

just want to go back to sleep.)

 

All sorts of things run on body time, though we don't always know the

reason. Some people are depressed at regular intervals, and some have

manic/depressive swings at regular intervals... every so many days or

weeks.

 

The body produces various sorts of substances - like hormones - at certain

times, and you can get maybe twice as much good out of taking a capsule

version at the right time. The only one I recall is that the best time to

take estrogen is at 4:00 am (standard time).

 

What I would like to know is whether these times when substances are

produced, and the "best" times for doing various things... whether they

vary when your internal clock gets way off from the normal... or whether

they are tied to sun and moon in such a way that they don't vary.

 

Love,

Dharma