We've probably all heard of circadian rhythms, the idea that our bodies have biological clocks that keep track of the daily cycle, sunrise to sunset. Maybe we've even heard that it's these biological rhythms that get thrown off when we travel across time zones or after daylight savings.

So on one hand, it's cool that our body keeps track of what time it is, but today our question is just how important are our circadian rhythms to our health and wellbeing? Do we need to be paying attention to these daily rhythms and what happens if we don't?

So we asked Stanford circadian biology expert, Erin Gibson. 

Links

• Gibson Lab
• Stanford Center for Sleep and Circadian Science
• Stanford Division of Sleep Medicine

References

• Rhythms of life: circadian disruption and brain disorders across the lifespan
• Circadian disruption and human health: A bidirectional relationship
• The arrival of circadian medicine

Episode Credits
This episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker and Christian Haigis, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Cover art by Aimee Garza.

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