Believe it or not, we are all ruled by a force beyond our control. The physiology and behavior of almost all living things, including humans, is impacted by a 24-hour cycle called the circadian rhythm. A master body clock related to night and day. Disruption of the rhythm is associated with heart disease, sleep disruptions, memory loss, foggy brain, cancer, diabetes, obesity, common illnesses, and more.
The circadian rhythm allows us to adapt to periodic environmental changes, such as light changes with the seasons. An important part of the rhythm is the regulation of hormone and neurotransmitter production and reduction. For instance, darkness prompts the production of melatonin to put us to sleep. Cortisol wakes us up in the morning after light lands on our closed eyelids prompting the adrenal glands to release the hormone. A neurotransmitter GABA relaxes the brain and helps control sleep-wake cycles. Chronically high levels of GABA hinder both short and long-term memory recall- the foggy brain.
A study of recall over time, between 9:30 am and 3:30 pm indicated peak memory performance occurs around 12:30 pm. This adds a whole new meaning to the term “power lunch.” The worst memory time was 3:30 pm. A helpful tidbit is that working memory and long-term memory were improved between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm with a 10-minute walk and a 15-30 minute recovery time. By the way, the recall study was conducted during the daytime. Night workers are a story for another day. They are constantly fighting to override their bodies ’ natural rhythms. This takes a toll on health over time.
The moral of the story is to get in sync with the rhythm of your body to improve memory and health. And get enough restful sleep to power up your brain. Ask about specialty lab tests that can help indicate neurotransmitter and hormone levels.
About the author: Dr. Kris Ritchey
Memory Recall and Circadian Rhythm [link- https://www.news-medical.net/health/Memory-Recall-and-Circadian-Rhythm.aspx]
Hasegawa, S., Fukushima, H., Hosoda, H. et al. Hippocampal clock regulates memory retrieval via Dopamine and PKA-induced GluA1 phosphorylation. Nat Commun 10, 5766 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13554-y
Lin, Yanke et al. “Bmal1 regulates circadian expression of cytochrome P450 3a11 and drug metabolism in mice.” Communications biology vol. 2 378. 16 Oct. 2019, doi:10.1038/s42003-019-0607-z
