Necessity is mother of invention. Post-industrialization, mankind has disturbed human body’s circadian rhythms (A daily cycle of activity observed in many living organisms which depends on Sunrise and Sunset) severely by including post-sunset activities under artificial lights. There is 24×7 work culture now. Effects are inevitable. You see many among us with memory loss in young age. So it became necessity to invent memory supporting tools (From To Do list to modern smartphones)
Result? Slow but gradual degradation human mind’s strength like memory.
Some suggestions to keep self fit against odds.
1) Keep low light at home after sunset
2) Avoid artificial lights at work (I know this is difficult but critical 🙁 )
3) At least spend time in nature during sunrise and sunset
4) Make sure your kids sleep early (so that they avoid artificial lights for long)
Research
Stanford biologists explore link between memory deficit and misfiring circadian clock
http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2014/pr-memory-circadian-rhythm-111714.html
By disrupting Siberian hamsters’ circadian rhythms, Stanford scientists have identified a part of the brain that, when misfiring, inhibits memory. The work could lead to therapies for neurodegenerative diseases in humans.
“When that clock doesn’t work well, memory deficits show up.”
Anyone who has struggled with a foggy brain while adjusting to daylight saving time knows first-hand how an out-of-sync circadian clock can impair brain function.
Now, by manipulating the circadian clocks of Siberian hamsters, Stanford scientists may have identified a brain structure that disrupts memory when circadian rhythms fall apart, as they often do in patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
“What we’ve been able to show is that the part of the brain that we absolutely know contains the circadian clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), also has an important role in learning and memory,” said Norman Ruby, a senior research scientist of biology at Stanford and senior author on the study. “When that clock doesn’t work well, memory deficits show up.”
Importantly, the researchers found that a broken clock impairs memory, but when they surgically removed the SCN from the hamsters, their memory abilities returned in full force, creating the possibility for new therapies.
Dysrhythmia in the suprachiasmatic nucleus inhibits memory processing
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/346/6211/854.full
