What are Cicadian Rhythms? Circadian Rhythms are our body’s natural cycles that control appetite, energy, mood, sleep and libido. When our body is out of sync with nature, we suffer from a Circadian Rhythm Disorder. Almost all of us, at some time during a year fall out of balance and suffer from sleep, mood or anxiety disorders. Fortunately, after decades of research, science has found the way to create circadian balance. Nature’s Rhythms Much of nature is made up of rhythms or cycles. Common rhythms include the four seasons and the twenty-four hour rotation of the earth. Like nature, our bodies have rhythms. Some of the rhythms of body and mind are tied to nature. When working properly, our bodies respond to nature’s cues to create their ideal rhythms. For example, when functioning properly, the human circadian rhythm will respond to the morning light of a new day. This light will cue the body to produce cortisol, serotonin, and other hormones and neurotransmitters that get a person awake and going and cause blood pressure to increase and body temperature to rise. At sunset, the body receives another of nature’s cues and responds to dusk and ultimately the night’s darkness. As the sun goes down the body will produce and secrete the hormone melatonin, and blood pressure will drop as the body prepares for and eventually falls off to sleep. In reality circadian rhythms control the timing, quantity and quality of the hormones and neurotransmitters the body produces and eventually secretes. Hormones and neurotransmitters are the elements that determine how we feel, our sleep patterns, our appetite, our sex drive and other sleep and mood-related issues. When functioning properly, our circadian rhythms create circadian balance. When out of balance, quantity, quality and timing of hormone and neurotransmitter secretion suffer and our bodies suffer from a circadian rhythm disorder (CRD). The Master Clock Significant progress is being made in the field of chronobiology, the formal name for the medical science that studies circadian rhythms. Researchers have discovered that the human body is orchestrated by internal biological clocks marching to several internal rhythms that pace themselves hourly, daily, monthly, seasonally and even yearly. Central to the timekeeping mechanism of the body and mind are Suprachaismatic nuclei or SCN. The SCN is the master clock – the circadian rhythm that controls all other rhythms of the body. The SCN is actually two clusters of 50,000 neurons, one on each side of the brain. The SCN sits inside the hypothalamus region of the brain and works with several time keeping genes. Together, the SCN and the timekeeping genes make up the central clock which governs many aspects of physiology and behavior because they orchestrate the daily rhythms and cycles that control the ebb and flow of hormones, chemicals and neurotransmitters that determine wake, sleep, appetite, sex and other key aspects of our lives. It is vitally important to understand the SCN and to how to care for it. Cannot find the product you are looking for? Please contact us by telephone 0870 220 3221, fax , or email: info@adsshop.co.uk. We can usually source other products and we always welcome suggestions for additional products for our shop.