What is the significance to our health of circadian rhythms in the body? Do you consider yourself to be a night- person, someone who is not sleepy and stays awake long after the rest of the world lies down to sleep, and then sleep during the day? Adequate deep healing sleep is the pivitol factor that maintains the body`s circadian rhythm patterns.

If you find yourself falling off early while everyone else is still ready to `go`, or your schedule is less predictable and rotates with time, in other words, you're not a night person, and then you are again...... your circadian clock is being disrupted by something.

Narcolepsy, a condition of sleep disorder posseses many symptoms from micro-sleep, i.e., falling asleep for short periods during the course of daily activities, to cataplexy, the loss of muscle control as well as many other symptoms related to inadequate deep sleep.

A circadian rhythm, not be confused with long period `biorhythm` readings of physical, intellectual or physical apptitudes per se, are roughly 24-hour cycles in biochemical, physiological, or behavioural body processes. Circadian rhythms are for real and it is imperative that we do everything to keep the body cycles in synch.

Circadian rhythms have even been observed in the simplest forms of living things such as in plants, animals, fungi and even in cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae.

The term "circadian" comes from the Latin circa, meaning "around", and diem, meaning `day`. The term "circadian" was coined by Franz Halberg in the late 1950s.

Although circadian rhythms are endogenous, or `built-in` and self-sustained, they are automatically adjusted in response to external environmental factors or cues. The primary influencing factor is daylight and lack of light when sleeping.

The earliest known account of a circadian process dates from the 4th century BC. Androsthenes, a ship captain serving under Alexander the Great, noticed and described diurnal leaf movements of the tamarind tree. Circadian rhythms are pervasive in nature of which we are a part.

A biological rhythm must meet four general criteria to be regarded as `circadian. The rhythms repeat once daily having a 24-hour period. Not doing things to disrupt sleep cycles is imperative. People working schedules when the body is naturally wanting to sleep because of darkness have shown to experience greater incidence of ulcers, heart diseases, respiratory problems and more.

The natural rhythm can be reset by exposure to external stimuli such as light and heat. The process is known as entrainment. Travelling across time zones illustrates the ability of the human biological clock to adjust to the local time after dealing with jet lag. Circadian rhythms allow organisms to anticipate and prepare for precise and regular environmental changes.

The classic phase markers for measuring the timing of the circadian rhythms of mammals are melatonin secretion by the pineal gland, core body temperature, and plasma level of cortisol. So adequate sunlight is necessary to maintain proper circadian rhythm and timing to keep sleep patterns constant. Once melatonin production is interfered with and poor sleep results, all other rhythms are affected.

Could this have a direct affect on the ability to shed those excess pounds too? When the body functions don`t happen at the times of the day that they are designed to by nature is where our health begins to be affected.

Blood pressure, immune system function, body temperature, hormone levels and more are all circadian rhythm driven, so for those who think it proves that they are `ironman` by not getting adequate deep sleep, all it helps to do is accelerate our aging.

TimeToStopThepain, from investigative researach suggests a minimum exposure of 6 hours per day of sunlight to help regulate the body`s `clock`. That does not mean that that you need to standout directly in the burning sunlight.

On the other hand, studies show that when the body naturally wants to sleep, based on light and dark, and that exposure to even the the dimmest light while trying to sleep is enough to reduce melatonin production.

Melatonin supplements are not always necessary for a person who has complete body balance and sleeps in complete darkness because that is the only time when melatonin is naturally produced by the pineal gland. Don`t waste money on expensive supplements that you don`t absolutely need, when you can do other things naturally and more economically.

In addition, the wearing of a Natural Therapeutic Body Wear(TM) set on the ankle and opposite wrist when you sleep helps to stimulate melatonin production. Adequate deep healing REM sleep, those Theta and Delta brain wave brain wave patterns is essential for great health. Melatonin helps to stimulate those patterns and is thought to be a regulator of the immune system function.

According to a 2010 study completed by the Lighting Research Center, daylight has a direct effect on circadian rhythms and, consequently, on performance and well-being. The research showed that students who experience disruption in lighting schemes in the morning consequently experience disruption in sleeping patterns.

Because it is unnatural to sleep during the day rather than at night, researchers use high intensity light and melatonin to help shift workers adjust to night work schedules.