The body has a network of daily (circadian) clocks that influences most areas of our health, including sleep and metabolism. A central clock in the brain is closely tied to daily sleep rhythms. But there are also clocks in other tissues – such as liver, muscle and fat – and they play an important role in metabolism.
Changing the relationship between our internal body clock system and daily changes in the outside environment is called “circadian desynchrony”. In our lives, circadian desynchrony occurs in situations such as shift work and jet lag, where there is a mismatch between internal circadian rhythm and environmental rhythms, such as the light-dark cycle.
