Light Therapy

Body Clock

 How Circadian Rhythms affect our mood, sleep and eating patterns

How Circadian Rhythms Affects Our Mood, Sleep, & Eating Patterns

You may have heard of the term “body clock” and wondered whether there was a truly physical “clock” or not. In fact, there is both a physical center for our Body Clock, and a scientific study (called Chronobiology) that explores the rhythms that govern human mood and sleep patterns, as well as natural cycles in other living organisms.

Plants have a body clock that tells them when to unfurl their leaves. Animals’ body clocks tell them when to hibernate or metamorphasize. Cells rely on Circadian Rhythms to know what time of day to replicate their light-sensitive DNA strands.

The body clock in humans governs sleep, eating patterns, mental alertness or fatigue, heart rate, hormone production, and mood patterns. This 24+ hour Circadian Rhythm is “set” by the seasons, by sunlight, and by temperature.

New Discoveries

The Circadian clock is not just a rhythmic sensitivity, it is actually located in a physical place in the body, centered in a group of cells in the hypothalamus. How are these cells stimulated? Our understanding of this is very recent.

Roughly 3 years ago, scientists discovered a new type of receptor in the eye that directly stimulates our circadian rhythms. We have long known about 2 types of light receptors in our eye’s retina called cones and rods. These cones and rods are stimulated by light, which sets off an electrical response and stimulates the brain. They help us see both image and color.

The latest discovery has to do with a third type of photoreceptor in the eye. This photoreceptor works differently than the eye’s cones and rods. It measures overall brightness or darkness, for example, telling our brain whether it is daytime or nighttime. It is this receptor that stimulates our body clock.

How Does It Work?

The receptor is made of roughly 2000 cells. Called ipRGCs (intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells), these light sensitive meters communicate directly to the brain, and primarily give information about circadian rhythms. They tell our brain what season it is, what time, and other information fundamental to the smooth functioning of our hormonal system.

This discovery of this new light receptor and its ability to give information about circadian patterns is already having an impact on the way scientists and medical practitioners are thinking about treatments for sleep and attention disorders, depression, jet-lag, and other body clock related conditions.

Connecting the Dots: The Importance of A Properly Set Body Clock

The importance of proper functioning of our internal clocks cannot be underestimated. Once our rhythm gets out of sync, we can experience all kinds of discomforting effects, from sleeplessness to irritability, sudden daytime drowsiness to depression. Because of its impact on our overall health and wellbeing, major universities have dedicated centers to study Circadian Biology.

What researchers have found is that light of varying frequencies adjusts our body clocks. Light has unique properties being both particles and a wave. The varying wavelengths (which make us see different colors) stimulate the electrical impulses in the body. The wavelength of blue light has been found to be beneficial in calming upset rhythmic patterns and recalibrating our internal timepieces. Isolating this frequency, and stimulating the photoreceptors in the eyes with blue light, sends information to the brain. Just as you can adjust a watch manually to set it faster or slower if it has come out of sync with the correct time, so exposing the body to short doses of blue light can adjust the body’s clock.

The result? Individuals who’ve flown around the world can use light therapy to overcome jet lag and quickly get adjusted to the new local time. Night shift workers can learn how to sleep during the day.

Applying the Knowledge of Circadian Rhythms to Heal

The body clock is more intrinsic to health than may have been previously understood. As scientists further verify that exposure to blue light can lift depression, heal irritated skin, give nights of restful sleep, we can develop new gentle treatments to increase our sense of well being.

NatureBright is harnessing the latest research on the ability of light to fine-tune our body clocks. Our products feed light of the optimal wavelength to gently support our body’s natural rhythms. Through simple daily light treatment, we can adjust our body clocks, and experience a significant improvement in our sleep cycles, daytime alertness, and sense of happiness and well-being. We are dedicated to working with the latest discoveries and understandings of the body’s inner workings, to use natural bright light to create a brighter future.