Accumulating evidence indicates an association between the circadian clock, the ageing process and metabolic stability.
Our organism, like everything else alive on the planet, is adjusted to a circadian rhythm. Television, "going out", going to bed late are having serious consequences. As a result, we age very early, we lose mental capacities and repair functions of our tissues without our subjects realising it.
Our cells have proteins that act like a clock tuned to the sun's day, light and dark. It generates cyclical variations in behaviour and physiology, including behavioural states such as sleep-wake cycles, as well as neurological, metabolic, endocrine, cardiovascular and immune functions.
Circadian rhythmicity is created endogenously by genetically encoded molecular clocks, whose components cooperate to generate cyclical changes with a periodicity of about one day. Throughout the body, these molecular clocks transmit temporal control to organ and tissue functions by regulating programmes for the coordination and maintenance of vital signs.
The synchronisation between the various circadian oscillators resident in our cells, and the resonance with the solar day, is largely enabled by a central pacemaker residing in the brain, in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which stimulates the production of hormones, including growth hormone (GH), cortisol, melatonin (MLT) and prolactin (PRL), largely induced by the internal or endogenous clocks. I will not dwell on the properties and functions of these products on which our longevity and health depend.
Circadian clocks help coordinate physiological processes with daily cycles of food, activity and rest. Being out of sync with these 24-hour cycles can have detrimental effects on health. Socially, nothing invites us to go to bed early to avoid the deterioration of our health and to delay the consequences of ageing, e.g. premature ageing of the skin, as well as smoking.
Thus, the circadian clock coordinates the daily rhythmicity of biochemical, physiological and behavioural functions in humans. Gene expression, cell division and DNA repair are modulated by the clock, leading to the hypothesis that clock dysfunction may predispose individuals to cancer.
Recent data suggest that the circadian clock regulates cognitive functions such as memory and mood in a sleep-dependent and sleep-independent manner.
Some circadian clock proteins are important regulators of longevity, e.g. BMAL1, NPAS2, CRY and PER.
Circadian rhythms of sleep and behaviour are significantly affected by ageing; this deterioration may contribute to cognitive impairment of the brain. Therefore, the more sleep the better for older people, but the earlier they go to bed the better.
Sleeping only four hours a night for a week reduces antibodies by half, due to increased adrenaline production. In other words, it's a big stress. And diets of less than 1,200 calories a day can also lower immune function.
Serials, TV and nightlife may affect circadian clock-dependent metabolic control, as well as the response to oxidative stress, DNA repair and autophagy (necessary to eliminate cells that have lost their functionality but emit harmful signals to healthy ones) and may contribute to brain ageing and neurodegeneration.
Restoring circadian rhythms with combined light and melatonin therapy improves sleep quality in humans, cognitive performance and increases life expectancy.
In addition, sleep disturbance may interfere with the function of certain neuronal pathways, especially those of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which modulates inhibition, and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which in turn may affect synaptic plasticity, leading to fatigue, impaired attention or concentration, social or occupational impairment, daytime sleepiness, mood disturbances and behavioural problems Evidence suggests a possible bidirectional association between the accumulation of β-amyloid, which will lead to dementia, and the sleep-wake cycle, which are critical for dementia. Lack of sleep increases β-amyloid concentrations, which has been linked to increased wakefulness and altered sleep patterns that may contribute to neurological degeneration by promoting neuroinflammation, especially in areas of the hippocampus.
So I encourage you to contribute to your premature old age and increase your television business, and don't miss the late night programmes, accompanied by a few cigars which will accelerate your deterioration.
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José Antonio Rodríguez Piedrabuena
Specialist in psychiatry, management training, group and couple therapies.