Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles that are part of the body’s internal clock, letting us know when it’s time to sleep and signalling us to wake up. The master clock in the brain is tied to environmental cues, especially the cycle of day and night.
I fi st heard about the circadian rhythm about 20 years ago when attending an Ecology of the Night conference. As an astronomer, I approached the conference as one who enjoys the pristine night sky.
I did not know about the biological impact of artificial lig t at night. What I learned by listening to the presentations from biologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, ecologists, First Nations representatives, and others blew my mind so much that I took a second look at the research literature. As a result, a few of us at the conference co-founded the science of Scotobiology, the study of the biological need for periods of darkness.
