The Secret Life Of Your Body Clock

Ticking away inside our bodies, every one of our major organs has its own individual timepiece. Beating out their daily, seasonal and annual rhythms over the courseof our lives, these clocks dictate every aspect of our physiology and behaviour – from when our brains are most alert, to when our stomachs are ready to break down food and when our bodies want to sleep.

Discover why babies are more likely to be born in the early hours of the morning. Could it be because it was advantageous for our vulnerable ancestors to give birth under cover of night? Is the teenager who can’t get out of bed before noon lazy? Or is it because the transition from childhood to adolescence means that the sleep hormone melatonin is released later in the day?

Find out why there are more heart attacks between 8am and 10am, why most olympic records are broken in the late afternoon and why drinking between 6pm and 8pm is better than drinking at any other time of the day. Happy hour really is the time when our livers become more efficient at detoxifying alcohol.

So if you want more sleep, want to exercise more effectively or want to improve your diet, pay close attention to this programme and find out that living to your full potential is not just about what you are doing, but when you are doing it.

FURTHER MATERIAL

Blue LEDs to reset tired truckers' body clocks

New Scientist: Eerie blue LEDs in truck cabs and truck stops could be the key to reducing accidents caused by drowsy drivers, say US researchers. Learn more