Even though circadian rhythms seem initially to be exclusively linked to our sleep, these primitive timing mechanisms reach back to virtually the dawn of life as we know it. Understanding circadian pathways lays the groundwork for not only understanding circadian disorders like jet lag and shift work, but also for understanding how to optimize our own health. In this episode we will:define circadian rhythmsunderstand the mechanisms in the nervous system that govern circadian rhythms and biological timingfind out about some of the early pioneers of circadian science and how their experiments helped to shed light on intrinsic rhythmslearn why human circadian rhythms are slightly longer than 24 hourslist the multiple systems within our bodies that depend on these rhythmsexamine research that indicates how harmful biological timing is to our health and the diseases/conditions they influencedetermine ways to optimize our own health through improved circadian schedulingProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!