by Aleksandra Jurczak
Weather and the seasons affect the way our biological clocks work, the latest study by Edinburgh University has shown.
Dr Carl Troein from the University of Edinburgh School of Biological Sciences said that the comparison is relevant in the debate about global warming: ‘With the passing of time and changing of the climate, plants had to “travel” north to find adverse conditions of temperature. However,the smaller amount of they received led to their slower growth. The same could apply to humans due to the climate change when the amount of light they’re exposed to does not match their biological clocks: their internal ‘growth’ will slow down.
Dr Troein believes the finding will help those who want to “manipulate the clock” for example when traveling or doing different work shifts whilst further research would support the work of therapists treating sleeping disorders.
Chris Idzikowski from Edinburgh Sleep Centre said, ‘At our Centre we recognise that weather, sleep and the biological-clock are inter-related, for example jet-lag or shift-work adjustment are common examples of desynchrony. Finland is a good example of country that has huge problems with the continuous light or lack of light, which can be an issue.’
