9781422273890

All animals have internal “clocks” or schedules that control functions such as when to be asleep and when to be awake.

that control functions such as body temperature, hunger, cell division, the release of particular hormones, and, most importantly for our purposes, when to be asleep and when to be awake. The circadian rhythm is innate , which is another way of saying it happens automatically and is beyond our control to a large extent. Mammals have what’s described as a “master clock” of approximately 20,000 nerve cells that sit in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The technical term for this “master clock” is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN manages the timing of all sorts of bodily functions, including (but not limited to) sleep. Significantly, it receives lots of data from the eyes. When the SCN registers that the sun has gone down, it stimulates the production

Teen Guides to Health & Wellness: Sleep and Hygiene

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