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The observation of a circadian or diurnal process in humans is mentioned in Chinese medical texts dated to around the 13th century, including the Noon and Midnight Manual and the Mnemonic Rhyme to Aid in the Selection of Acu-points According to the Diurnal Cycle, the Day of the Month and the Season of the Year. [7]
A circadian rhythm is an entrainable, endogenous, biological activity that has a period of roughly twenty-four hours. This internal time-keeping mechanism is centralized in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of humans, and allows for the internal physiological mechanisms underlying sleep and alertness to become synchronized to external environmental cues, like the light-dark cycle. [4]
A diurnal cycle (or diel cycle) is any pattern that recurs every 24 hours as a result of one full rotation of the planet Earth around its axis. [1] Earth's rotation causes surface temperature fluctuations throughout the day and night, as well as weather changes throughout the year. The diurnal cycle depends mainly on incoming solar radiation. [2]
Humans are normally diurnal creatures that are active in the daytime. As with most other diurnal animals, human activity-rest patterns are endogenously regulated by biological clocks with a circadian (~24-hour) period. [citation needed] Chronotypes have also been investigated in other species, such as fruit flies [1] and mice. [2]
“The body has a diurnal cycle of waking, going and relaxing, and eventually sleeping. Morning coffee goes along this cycle, while continued drinking, ...
Overview, including some physiological parameters, of the human circadian rhythm ("biological clock").. Chronobiology is a field of biology that examines timing processes, including periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms, such as their adaptation to solar- and lunar-related rhythms. [1]
In diurnal (day-active) species, exposure to light soon after wakening advances the circadian rhythm, whereas exposure before sleeping delays the rhythm. [11] [12] [8] An advance means that the individual will tend to wake up earlier on the following day(s). A delay, caused by light exposure before sleeping, means that the individual will tend ...
Chronodisruption, in the form of shift work, increases the risk of breast cancer in women by about 50%. [13] The risk of developing other forms of cancers, such as prostate cancer in men and colorectal cancer in women, may also increase with chronodisruption; studies in this area have shown modest, but statistically significant, associations. [13]