Has someone ever introduced themselves as an “early bird” to you? You may have even heard of its antithesis, “night owl”. In fact, if you are a student, you may have heard of the latter considerably more often. The two terms are used to describe different chronotypes, which are behavioral templates determined by our circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are our bodies’ innate biological clocks and are key in regulating our sleep-wake cycles: so much so that even a slight change in our circadian rhythms can switch our chronotype classification from “early bird” to “night owl” in an instant. This phenomenon is what usually happens during adolescence -- hence the overwhelming prevalence of “night owls” among teenage students.
Author: Jane Oh
Editor: Youhyun (Spany) Noh
So how do circadian rhythms work, and why are they especially important to students?
Primarily, cells in our brain recognize the presence and absence of light via our eyes. Then, these cells (called neuron cells) send signals to different cells in different parts of the body to indicate whether they should be awake or sleepy. The activation of select functions makes us either tired or alert.
Hormones also play a marked role in shaping our circadian rhythms -- namely, melatonin and cortisol. Melatonin is a hormone that makes you sleepy, while cortisol does the opposite. The release and suppression of each of these hormones regulates our alertness throughout the day.
There are a multitude of other factors that all acutely affect our circadian rhythms, such as body temperature and metabolism. That is precisely why our everyday habits are critical in maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm conducive to well-being. The aforementioned main factors that influence circadian rhythms are all directly linked to physical activity, work hours, sleep schedule, and other general lifestyle choices. Hence, it is crucial that we students avoid making choices that throw off our circadian rhythms, deteriorate our physical well-being, and subsequently impact our academic performance.
Research shows that circadian disruption has marked detrimental effects on learning and recall (Thacher 2008). A study conducted by Taub et al. in 1974 suggested that even if the amount of sleep remained constant, shifting students’ sleep-wake cycles by a mere two hours had significantly lower reported concentration levels. This shows that drastic changes to your sleep cycle, regardless of the net amount of sleep, can impact students’ abilities to take an exam well.
In addition, neurogenesis -- the growth of new neurons -- known to aid absorption of information in the hippocampus has been widely understood to be inhibited by circadian disruption (Epp 2007). That is, sudden alterations in your sleep-wake cycles can prevent the helpful phenomenon of neurogenesis.
All in all, these findings suggest strong proof of concept for the idea that circadian rhythms affect student well-being in all dimensions. So what should we do to form and maintain a healthy circadian rhythm?
Firstly, it is important that you adhere to a routine each day. Avoid pulling sudden all-nighters if you are not used to them. By the same token, avoid sleeping all day long to maximize rest time if you normally function well with little sleep.
Secondly, get enough daily exercise. Although some may perceive exercise as a distant concept from circadian rhythms, aerobic exercise has been scientifically proven time and time to reduce sleep complaints, increase sleep quality, and even diminish the degree of greater problems like insomnia.
Lastly, because sleeping is meaningless if it takes place in an environment that disturbs sleep, create an environment that promotes proper rest. Set your room to a comfortable temperature, dim your lights to the lowest setting possible, and get a supportive mattress. Try not to consume caffeine or alcohol (although you should not be drinking the latter anyway) prior to sleep, as they can disturb REM sleep.
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