In my last post, I talked about body rhythm and how it works. Paying attention to our body’s rhythm is more important than we realize.

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However, our modern lives have thrown the rhythms off. We have stopped listening to our body clock–we pay more attention to the wristwatch. This can lead to many health problems.

How Is The Body Rhythm Disrupted?

1. Shift Work

Doing shift work means you are working at night while sleeping during the day. The body clock, or the circadian rhythm, responds primarily to light and darkness, so your natural sleep pattern is disrupted and this affects other systems. The same gene that controls the receptor for the sleep hormone, melatonin, is also involved in insulin releases. This can increase the risk of diabetes and weight gain.

2. Jet Lag

Flying across different time zones disrupts the body clock. Our body tells us it is time to sleep, but our environment tells us otherwise. We, therefore, become disoriented and foggy.

3. Eating

Eating at the wrong time can affect body rhythm. Having a huge supper just before you go to bed will cause the body to focus on digestion rather than detoxifying while you sleep. Eating the wrong food can also throw body rhythm off.

Five Health Problems That Develop When The Body Rhythm Is Disrupted

1. Decrease In Immunity

Most people are susceptible to sickness when they don’t get enough sleep. This is because the chemicals that are responsible for immunity wax and wane throughout the day. When sleep is deprived, the cycle of the immunity chemicals is also disrupted. This can affect the body’s ability to fight infections.

2. Mood Disorder

People with mood disorders, such as depression or bipolar disease, were discovered to have an altered body clock. They tend to sleep too much or too little.


3. Neuro-Degeneration

When the body clock is disrupted, the rhythms that regulate cell function and health become disrupted leading to the predisposition of the brain to degenerate.

A study on fruit flies was reported in Neurobiology of Disease by researchers from Oregon State University. When the gene of the fruit flies was altered to disrupt the circadian rhythm, the flies were found to develop holes in the brain and exhibit signs of aging. 30-50% of the files had shorter life spans and loss of motor functions.

4. Diabetes

Evidence has linked the relationship between the body clock hormone, melatonin, and type 2 diabetes. People carrying a gene mutation in the receptor to melatonin have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

5. Heart Health

Disruption of the body rhythm increases the level of triglycerides in the body. High triglyceride levels increase the risk of heart diseases.

Dr. M. Mahmood Hussain, professor of the Department of Cell Biology and Pediatrics at the University of New York Downstate Medical Center reported a study in the journal Cell Metabolism. He tested on two groups of mice. One group had a normal cycle of activity in the day and slept at night. The second group of mice had a “broken” body rhythm, where they ate day and night. The second group had higher triglyceride levels than the first.

As you can see, not paying attention to the body rhythm has an adverse impact on your health. You may not feel it immediately but, in the longterm, your health will suffer. It is, therefore, important to listen to your body clock.

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