DEAR DOCTORS: I heard on the news about a study that says you won't get as hungry if you eat all of your meals earlier in the day. Does that have to do with the way the body clock works? It seems like circadian rhythms affect everything we do. Can you talk about that, and about this study?
DEAR READER: Your question returns us to the fascinating field of chronobiology. As the word suggests, it's the study of biological rhythms in relation to the daily cycle of light and dark. While written references to the existence of a "biological clock" date back many centuries, the first known scientific observations on the phenomenon were made in the early 1700s. The modern branch of this science traces its roots to the 1950s, with fruit fly experiments and a few sleep studies. Today, chronobiology is a robust area of research.
