Rhythm in biology. The meaning of biological rhythms. Human biorhythms. A day is a small life. Human biological rhythms

Biological rhythms of health mean the cyclical nature of processes occurring in the body. A person’s internal rhythms are influenced by external factors:

• natural (radiation from the Moon, Earth and Sun);
• social (shifts at the enterprise).

Biorhythmologists or chronobiologists study biorhythms. They believe that biorhythms are periodic processes that occur in living matter. These processes can cover completely different time periods: from a couple of seconds to tens of years. Changes in biological rhythms can be caused by various processes. They can be external (ebb and flow) and internal (heart function).

Classification of biorhythms

The main criterion for dividing rhythms into groups is their duration. Chronibiologists will distinguish three types of human biological rhythms. The longest ones are called low-frequency ones. The amplitude of such fluctuations in the functioning of the body is determined by lunar, seasonal, monthly or weekly intervals. As examples of processes that obey low-frequency rhythms, we can highlight the work of the endocrine and reproductive systems.

The second group includes mid-frequency rhythms. They are limited to a time period from 30 minutes to 6 days. According to the laws of such oscillations, the metabolic process and the process of cell division in the body operate. Periods of sleep and wakefulness are also subject to these biorhythms.

High frequency rhythms last less than 30 minutes. They are determined by the work of the intestines, heart muscle, lungs and the speed of biochemical reactions.

In addition to the types mentioned above, there are also fixed biorhythms. They are understood as rhythms, the duration of which is always 90 minutes. These are, for example, emotional fluctuations, changes in sleep phases, periods of concentration and heightened attention.

Of particular interest is the fact that biological cycles can be inherited and are determined genetically. Ecology also influences them.

Types of biological rhythms

From birth, the human body is subject to the influence of three rhythms:

• intellectual,
• emotional,
• physical.

A person’s intellectual biological rhythm determines his mental abilities. In addition, he is responsible for caution and rationality in behavior. Representatives of intellectual professions can most strongly feel the influence of this biorhythm: teachers, scientists, professors and financiers. The ability to concentrate and perceive information depends on intellectual biocycles.

The emotional biorhythm is responsible for a person’s mood. It affects perception and sensitivity, and can also transform the range of human sensations. It is because of this rhythm that people tend to change their mood throughout the day. It is responsible for creativity, intuition and the ability to empathize. Women and artistic people are more susceptible to this cycle. Emotional state caused by fluctuations given rhythm, affects family relationships, love, sex.

Physical biorhythm is directly related to the functioning of the human body. It determines internal energy, endurance, reaction speed and metabolism. Reaching its peak, this biological rhythm increases the body's ability to recover. This is of particular importance for athletes and people whose activities involve physical activity.

Change of biorhythms during the day

The most noticeable changes in biological rhythms are observed during full day. They determine favorable hours for work, sleep, rest, learning new information, eating and playing sports. For example, the period from 7 to 8 am is the best time for breakfast, and the time from 16 to 18 o'clock is most suitable for intellectual work.

Human daily biorhythms easily and quickly adapt to time zones. The process of the human body resembles internal clock. And, as in the case of switching to winter time, when changing the belt, the body itself “turns the arrows” in the direction it needs.

Indicators of biological rhythms may fluctuate somewhat in favor of individual characteristics human body. In addition, there are several chronotypes that have different circadian rhythms.

Human chronotypes

Based on the nature of daily activity, three types of people are distinguished:

• owls,
• larks,
• pigeons

What is remarkable is that only a small percentage of people are completely chronotypical. The vast majority represent transitional forms between “owls” and “pigeons” and “pigeons” and “larks”.

“Night owl people” usually go to bed after midnight, get up late and are most active in the evening and at night. The behavior of early risers is the opposite: they get up early, go to bed earlier and are more active earlier in the day.

With “pigeons” everything is more interesting. They get up later than early risers, but also go to bed closer to midnight. Their activity is more evenly distributed throughout the day. It is generally accepted that “pigeons” are only an adapted form. That is, people who live with such a biological rhythm simply adapt to their work or study schedule, while the other two chronotypes have their own characteristics from birth.

A sudden change in daily routine can cause deterioration in well-being and uncontrollable mood swings. It will be extremely difficult to combat such a condition, and it will be difficult to restore the normal rhythm of the body’s functioning. Therefore, a clear daily routine is not a luxury, but a way to always be in a good mood.

Biological rhythms of human internal organs

Of particular importance for a person and his health are not only the biological rhythms of the body, but also individual parts. Each organ is an independent unit and works in its own rhythm, which also changes throughout the day.

The time from 1 to 3 am is considered the liver period. From 7 to 9 am the stomach works best. That's why tomorrow is called the most important technique food. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. most favorable time for the heart muscle, so training carried out at this time gives greater results. From 15 to 17 hours the urinary tract is most active. Some people report that they experience stronger and frequent urge to the toilet during this period of time. Kidney time starts at 5 pm and ends at 7.

Thwart your own work internal organs Can poor nutrition, non-compliance with sleep patterns, excessive physical and psychological stress.

Methods for calculating biorhythms

If a person knows how his body works, he can plan his work, study and other activities with greater efficiency. Determining health biorhythms is quite simple. The result will be true for all chronobiological types.

To calculate the exact biological cycles of the body, you need to multiply the number of days in a year by age, with the exception of leap years. Then quantity leap years multiply by 366 days. Both resulting indicators are added together. After this, you need to divide the resulting number by 23, 28 or 33, depending on what rhythm you need to calculate.

As is known, each oscillation of the biological rhythm goes through three stages: a low-energy phase, a high-energy phase and critical days. If you need to know physical state, then it is determined by a 23-day cycle. The first 11 days will be days of good health, greater resistance to stress, and sexual desire. From 12 to 23 days it appears increased fatigue, weakness, poor sleep. During this period you need to rest more. Days numbered 11, 12 and 23 can be considered critical.

The 28-day cycle determines emotional indicators. Energy will be high for the first 14 days. This is a favorable time for friendship, love and relationships. The person will be overwhelmed with emotions, all creative abilities will intensify. The period from 14 to 28 will be a time of decline in emotional strength, passivity, and reduced performance. There are only two critical days in the cycle: 14 and 28. They are characterized by the emergence of conflicts and decreased immunity.

The intellectual cycle lasts 33 days. In the first 16 days, the ability to think clearly and clearly is observed, increased concentration, good memory and general mental activity. In the remaining days of the cycle, reactions are slowed down, a creative decline occurs and a decrease in interest in everything. On the three critical days of the cycle (16, 17, 33), it becomes extremely difficult to concentrate, errors in work, absent-mindedness, and risk of accidents and other incidents due to inattention appear.

For a faster calculation, you can use the human biorhythm calculator. You can find many different resources on the Internet where, in addition to the calculation applications themselves, you can read reviews from real people about them.

Knowledge of the biological rhythms of the body can help a person achieve his goals, harmonize interpersonal relationships and life in general. It will also have a beneficial effect on your physiology and emotional state.

Biorhythms are the cyclical nature of processes in a living organism. The main external rhythms influencing human biocycles are natural (Sun, Moon...) and social ( work week...) The leading internal chronometers of the human body are located: in the head (epiphysis, hypothalamus) and in the heart. Biorhythms can change, synchronizing with external rhythms - light cycles (change of day and night, light).

From the day of birth, a person is in three biological rhythms - physical, emotional and intellectual:

23 day rhythm- This physical rhythm, it determines the health, strength and endurance of a person;
28 day rhythm- this is an emotional rhythm, it affects the state nervous system, mood, love, optimism, etc.;
33 day rhythm is an intellectual rhythm. It determines the creative abilities of an individual. Favorable days The 33-day rhythmic cycle is characterized by creative activity, and a person is accompanied by luck and success. IN unfavorable days creative decline occurs.

Each of the three long-term rhythmic cycles begins with the birth of a person. Its further development can be depicted as a sinusoid (graph). The higher the curve rises, the higher the ability corresponding to this mark. The lower it falls, the lower the corresponding energy. Periodic days are considered critical when the curve is at the intersection of the scale. This is an unfavorable time.

Thus, biorhythm calculation not at all complicated. Starting from exact date your birth, count how many days you have lived. To do this, multiply 365 days a year by the number of years lived, and multiply the number of leap years by 366 days. Leap years were: 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980,1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 , 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 , 2016.

Calculate the total number of days lived. Now you know how many days you have already lived in this world. Divide this number by the number of days of the biorhythm you want to calculate: 23, 28, 33. The remainder will show you where you are currently on the curve. For example, if the remainder is 12, then it is the 12th day of the biorhythm that you are counting. This is the first half of the cycle and is usually favorable. If the cycle is at zero on the chart, then it is a bad day. In addition, the days when the biorhythm lines cross the horizontal line in the center of the graph are the so-called critical days, when your abilities are completely unpredictable. On such days a person feels a loss of strength and lack of energy.

Each biorhythm has 3 periods: a period of high energy, a period of low energy and critical days of the biorhythm. Let's take a closer look:

23 day rhythm

High energy (0-11 days): good physical well-being, resistance to stress, illness and high Vital energy, strong sexual desire, the danger of overestimating one’s strengths.
Low energy (days 12-23): increased fatigue, during this time it is recommended to rest more and conserve energy.
Critical days (11, 12, 23 days): reduced resistance to disease, tendency to erroneous actions.

28 day rhythm

High energy (days 0-14): intense emotional and spiritual life, favorable time for friendship and love, increased creativity and interest in new things, tendency to be highly emotional.
Low energy (days 14-28): lack of self-confidence, passivity, underestimation of one’s capabilities.
Critical days (14, 28 days): tendency to mental conflicts, decreased resistance to disease.

33 day rhythm

High energy (0-16 days): ability to think clearly and logically, ability to concentrate, good memory, creative activity.
Low energy (days 17-33): decreased interest in new ideas, slow reactions, creative decline.
Critical days (16, 17, 33 days): inability to concentrate, inattention and absent-mindedness, tendency to erroneous actions ( Great chance accidents).

HUMAN BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS

Circadian rhythms according to the “biological clock”

EARLY MORNING

4-5 hours (in real, geographical time, as for acupuncture points) - the body is preparing to awaken.

By 5 a.m., melatonin production begins to decrease and body temperature rises.

Shortly before waking up, around 5:00 a.m. geographical, real local time, the body begins preparing for the upcoming wakefulness: the production of “activity hormones” - cortisol, adrenaline - increases. The content of hemoglobin and sugar in the blood increases, the pulse quickens, and arterial pressure(BP), breathing deepens. Body temperature begins to rise, phase frequency increases REM sleep, the tone of the sympathetic nervous system increases. All these phenomena are enhanced by light, heat and noise.

By 7-8 o'clock, night owls have a peak release of cortisol (the main hormone of the adrenal glands) into the blood. For early risers - earlier, at 4-5 hours, for other chronotypes - about 5-6 hours.

From 7 to 9 am - get up, exercise, breakfast.

9 hours - high performance, fast counting, short-term memory works well.

In the morning - assimilation of new information, with a fresh mind.

Two to three hours after waking up, take care of your heart.

9-10 am - time to make plans, “use your brain.” "The morning is wiser than the evening"

9-11 hours - immunity increases.

Medicines that enhance the body's resistance to disease are effective.

Until 11 o'clock - the body is in excellent shape.

12 - reduce physical activity.

Brain activity decreases. Blood rushes to the digestive organs. Gradually, blood pressure, pulse and muscle tone begin to decrease, respectively, but body temperature continues to rise.

13 ± 1 hour - lunch break

13-15 - midday and afternoon rest(lunch, quiet time, siesta)

After 14 hours - minimal pain sensitivity, the most effective and long-lasting action of painkillers.

15 - long-term memory works. Time - to remember and remember well what is needed.

After 16 - increase in performance.

15-18 hours is the time to go in for sports. Thirst, at this time, should be quenched abundantly and often with pure boiled water, hot or warm - in winter (to prevent colds, gastrointestinal diseases and kidney diseases). In summer you can have cold mineral water.

16-19 - high level of intellectual activity. Housework

19 ± 1 hour - dinner.

Carbohydrate foods (natural - honey, etc.) promote the production of a special hormone - serotonin, which promotes a good night's sleep. The brain is active.

After 19 hours - good reaction

After 20 o'clock mental condition stabilizes and improves memory. After 21:00 the number of whites almost doubles blood cells(immunity increases), body temperature decreases, cell renewal continues.

From 20 to 21 - light physical exercise, walking on fresh air

After 21 hours - the body prepares for a night's rest, body temperature drops.

22 hours is time for sleep. The immune system is strengthened to protect the body during the night's rest.

In the first half of the night, when it prevails slow sleep, the maximum amount of somatotropic hormone is released, stimulating the processes of cell reproduction and growth. No wonder they say that in our sleep we grow. Regeneration and cleansing of body tissues occurs.

2 hours - those who do not sleep at this time may experience depression.

3-4 hours is the deepest sleep. Body temperature and cortisol levels are minimal, melatonin levels in the blood are maximum.

Biological rhythms in life

Flying by plane from east to west is easier than flying from west to east. To adapt, the body (young, healthy) needs approximately a day for each time zone, but not less than three to four days. The speed of capturing the biorhythms of the human body external rhythm- strongly depends on the difference in their phases. On average, it takes one and a half weeks for sufficient adaptation and acclimatization in new conditions. This does not depend on the position of the hands on the watch dial, but on the sun above your head. Local, local peculiarities geomagnetic and other fields and radiations that differ from the usual ones.

Human daily chronotype: morning (larks), afternoon (pigeons) and evening (owls). Night activity"night owls" affects their health - myocardial infarctions occur more often in them than in "larks", their cardiovascular system "burns out" faster.

To increase productivity and labor efficiency, it is recommended to take into account the chronotype, individually for each employee, when drawing up a schedule, work schedule for personnel at enterprises and, especially, dispatchers and operators.

Compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards and ergonomic requirements, work and rest schedules - necessary condition work of a modern enterprise.

Performance decreases sharply from thirty degrees Celsius, halving at temperature environment+33-34°C.

Shift work schedule (for example, from night shift to day shift) - no more than once a month, taking into account the time required for adaptation (1-2 weeks).

Industrial accidents and traffic accidents on the road more often occur at certain hours:
- from 22 o'clock to 4 o'clock - a person has the lowest response rate.
- between 13 and 15 hours - first, the general pre-lunch rush, after - “afternoon depression”.

To prevent “afternoon depression”, resting after lunch for 10-20 minutes or taking a “midday nap” can be effective, but not more than 1.5 hours, otherwise there will be the opposite effect.

Human performance is higher from 10 to 12 and from 17 to 19 hours.

Sport

“Specially conducted research and practice sports training show that the most favorable period for intensive training is from 9 to 18 hours and that it is undesirable to carry out large volume and intensity loads early in the morning and late in the evening” (N.A. Agadzhanyan et al., 1989).

Human biorhythms: Sleep

Try to always go to bed and get up at the same time. Otherwise - desynchronosis. The first 4-5 hours of normal, natural sleep(deep, without breaks) - mandatory, this is a vital daily minimum for the human body.

For insomnia and to quickly fall asleep (normal - within 5-15 minutes):
1) lie down comfortably, close your eyes, don’t think about anything (reduce bioelectrical activity brain);
2) focus your attention on the diaphragm (its movement during breathing) and on the inner ankles (ankles) of the legs.

In a sound sleeper, the ears become the main source of sensory information about the environment (“ light sleep"), therefore, in order not to wake up from noise, you need to ensure silence (including using anti-noise soft “earplugs” made of hypoallergenic polymer, having good SNR (noise reduction), at a level of 30 dB or more), taking into account increased sensitivity hearing at night - with closed eyes and during sleep (10-14 decibels better compared to daytime days). Loud, sharp, frightening sounds can wake up a sleeping person for a long time and cause insomnia.

It is difficult to fall asleep on an empty stomach, therefore, dinner is around 18-20 hours or 2-3 hours before bedtime. Don't overeat at night. The usual duration of restful sleep is 7-9 hours. Not only its duration is important, but also its quality (continuity and depth first three, mandatory cycles, 1.5 x 3 = 4.5 hours)

Poor, restless sleep, nightmares, with a recurring obsessive plot - may be a consequence cardiovascular diseases(bradycardia - rare pulse, arrhythmias), symptoms of snoring and respiratory arrest disease ( sleep apnea), lack of oxygen in the room. The aeroionic composition of the air in apartments, without ventilation or the use of an aeroionizer, also requires improvement.

Before waking up, a dream movie is seen (its reproduction is a release of the ballast of nervous tension, unrealized ideas, unpleasant visual images that have accumulated over the past days, after processing and organizing the information received in the short-term and long-term memory of the brain, adaptation to difficult life situations). The more intense the eye movements during “rapid eye movement” sleep (REM phase), the better the dream reproduction. At the moment of falling asleep, a series of slides or pictures appears in the mind.

Laboratory studies have shown the necessity of the REM sleep phase for the survival of the body. A mouse deprived of this dream phase for 40 days died. In people, when blocking REM sleep with alcohol, there is a predisposition to hallucinations.

Dreams in the “rapid eye movement” phase (after slow-wave sleep and before waking up, to wake up or to “turn to the other side”) appear according to individual biorhythm - every 90-100 minutes. (in the morning - cycles are reduced to the first tens of minutes, see the graph in the picture), in accordance with the intraday cyclicity of changes (increases) in general body temperature and the redistribution of blood in the body (from its periphery, from the extremities to the center of the body, inward), growth blood pressure, acceleration of breathing rate and heart rate.

Short-term memory is involved in remembering dreams, therefore, up to 90% of the content of a dream is forgotten within the next half hour, after waking up, unless, in the process of remembering, emotional experience, ordering and comprehension, its plot is recorded in the long-term memory of the brain.

Human biorhythms: remembering sleep

According to reviews from enthusiastic researchers and practitioners, high levels, lucid dreaming(OS) is cooler than many modern computer games.

Many people see dreams, but not everyone tries to remember and remember them at the moment of waking up (especially during short awakenings between the first cycles, before returning back to slow-wave sleep).

If there is very little time for rest, you can sleep from 10-11 pm to 3-4 am (“mandatory program” - the first three night cycles in a row, without waking up, that is, the duration of sleep will be 4-5 hours). In this case, the following are restored, sequentially: the brain, body and physical strength, the emotional sphere.

The duration of night sleep required for the human body also depends on the season. In winter - it should be at least half an hour longer than in the summer.

A natural sleep aid is fatigue and/or certain moments in the 90-minute cycles of the body's individual biorhythm when body temperature drops.

Sufficient night sleep promotes weight loss (with overweight- its normalization). In this case, dinner no later than four hours before bedtime. Night food is excluded, you can only drink clean water, in small quantities (to flush the esophagus, avoid dehydration and to fall asleep as quickly as possible). The effect will be more noticeable - with high physical activity, during daylight hours.

Frequent lack of sleep causes the body to wear out and age faster. During the slow wave stage of normal, deep sleep, a control scan by the brain of the digestive, respiratory system and heart (as having the most clear rhythm), and with fast wave - the cardiovascular and lymphatic, reproductive and nervous systems, as well as the liver, kidneys, muscles and tendons (i.e. organs that do not have obvious short-period rhythms). After collecting and processing this information, a sequentially planned and coordinated restoration of the insides (visceral sphere - stomach, intestines, etc.) of the body is carried out. This process mainly involves the most powerful “computational processors”, for example, in the visual and motor areas of the cerebral cortex. In the case when you really want to sleep, but systematically there is no such opportunity, physical changes may occur in the internal organs and the risk of developing pathologies (stomach ulcers, etc.) significantly increases.

A sleep-deprived and very tired person who feels drowsy while driving a car is just as risky to his health and dangerous to others as a driver who is intoxicated.

Scientists, and not only British ones, have found that it is possible to slow down the aging of the brain if you stabilize your biorhythms - by simply following a sleep schedule, this natural circadian (that is, cyclically repeating every day, every 24 hours) rhythm.

Biorhythms of human organs by the clock, or biological rhythms, are the “internal clock” of a person. They determine when a particular organ is working actively and when it is resting. Biorhythms react to natural phenomena - the work of organs depends on whether it is day or night, what the season of the year is and lunar day. In total, about 300 biological rhythms are known by which the human body works.

The main types of biorhythm: how to calculate them

These types are inherent in all people without exception. One cycle is divided into 2 parts: active (first half) and decadent (second). In the first half, it is better to use your strength as much as possible, move forward persistently, in the second half, rest as much as possible, and in the last 3-4 days of the cycle, it is better to reduce activity to a minimum. That is, in the first part of the physical cycle, for example, you should work more, play sports, etc.

There are 3 main types of biological rhythms:

• Physical (one cycle – 23 days);
• Intellectual (cycle – 33 days);
• Emotional (cycle – 28 days).

Calculating each cycle is very simple. From the total number of years of life, we subtract leap years (every fourth), and multiply the result by 365. The number of leap years that fall during the period of your life is multiplied by 366. We add the resulting numbers - this is total the days you have lived.

To calculate a specific cycle, you need to divide this number of days by the number of days of the cycle that are indicated above. The resulting number will have a remainder - this remainder is the day of the cycle that falls on today's date.

Accurate knowledge of your biorhythms brings many benefits. With it you can use your strengths and abilities most effectively - for example, it is better to write a thesis in active phase intellectual cycle, having fun and going on dates is at the peak of emotional activity, and working is in the first half of the physical cycle.

Circadian biological rhythms: when organs work best

The working hours of human internal organs vary: each organ has its own periods of activity and decline during the day. Let's look at them.

• The heart is most active between 11 am and 1 pm. During this period, blood pressure most often rises.
• The stomach works most from 7 to 9 am. That is why it is important to have a hearty breakfast - the stomach will digest everything as much as possible, take all possible benefit from food.
• The lungs work from 3 to 5 in the morning. The room should be well ventilated before going to bed to make their work easier.
• The liver is most productive from one to three in the morning. Therefore, it is not recommended to smoke and drink alcohol at night, as this will make it difficult for the body to eliminate toxins.
• The time of greatest emotional upsurge is from 00.00 to 01.00. This is the time when many people like to work. creative people. But from 2 to 4 am, emotional and intellectual resources are at zero.
• Peak work of the small intestine is from one to three in the afternoon. Therefore, in the afternoon you are tempted to relax.

How to make a plan for the day, guided by biorhythms

If you spend the day as your body requires, you will receive its gratitude - good health, increased performance. Here is a schedule in which the body will work efficiently.

It is worth noting that each person is individual, your personal internal clock may differ slightly from the general concept. It’s worth trying to live according to the schedule presented below, and over time adjust it to suit yourself, listening to the requirements of your body.

1. Sleep - from 23.00 to 5.00-7.00. Until one o'clock in the morning, the body rests, gains strength, strengthens the immune system, and actively produces serotonin. From 01.00 the liver begins to work, all accumulated waste is intensively removed. Then the lungs are connected, colon. Sleeping at night will allow your body to rest and cleanse itself as much as possible, so you wake up feeling good.
2. Spending the morning correctly is also important. From 7 to 9 am - have breakfast, from 9 to 11 - work, because during this period the pancreas and spleen are activated, which gives energy. But from 11 to 1 it is better to rest - work can negatively affect the heart, which is active at this time.
3. The day is also divided into several stages. Around 13:00 you should have lunch to help small intestine. After lunch, until 3 o'clock in the afternoon, you should do light work or take a walk, because... The body is busy digesting food. Also at this time any medicine will work more actively. Then comes the period brain activity– We devote time until 17.00 to study and intellectual work. After this, you need to give your body a shake-up, such as exercise, to help your kidneys work. We also have dinner before 19.00 so as not to overload the body with food later.
4. The evening should be devoted to relaxation, as well as contacts with people. Until 9 pm you can go for a walk with friends, visit the theater or cinema - this will support the work of the brain and circulatory system, which is becoming more acute at this time. Also, at 20.00 the mental state begins to improve, so this time should be spent with family to strengthen the psyche and relax. From 9 to 11, the body prepares for sleep, all organs slow down. At this time, it is worth spending time on water procedures, yoga, meditation, and other calm activities. In men, only the prostate gland becomes active at this time (the biorhythms of a person’s organs depend partly on his gender).

Five remarkable facts about biological rhythms

• There is a branch of science that studies biorhythms - chronobiology.
• Internal clocks are present not only in humans, but also in animals and plants.
• Playing sports not only strengthens the body physically, but also promotes a clearer rhythm of the organs, which helps to live by listening to the body.
• Meditation and yoga help both to understand the requirements of one’s own body and to establish the biorhythm system.
• Constant disruption of the body's natural rhythm and irregularity lead to depression and other health problems.

In this world with its traffic jams, work on a strict schedule, and disrupted sleep patterns, it is not easy to understand what exactly your body needs. But if you take the time to understand your body and listen to its rhythm, it will thank you in full. Internal biorhythms of the internal organs of the body are an important factor influencing the quality of life.

Biological rhythms- This is the body’s reflection of cyclical natural phenomena. They can be depicted graphically in the form of a curve that will show the ability to perform certain type work at the estimated time.

Being able to structure your day correctly, planning it so that it is as productive as possible is still half the battle. It is imperative to learn to take into account the body’s biorhythms, which during the day provide for periods of activity and decline. Of course, each person’s biorhythms have their own characteristics, which manifest themselves in nuances. The main laws developed over time are universal. If you skillfully and subtly “build” your day into the natural schedule of physiological processes, you can get the greatest effect.

During a person’s life, there are 3 main types of biorhythms:

1. Physical(the cycle is 23 days). As activity increases, endurance and energy increase, and coordination of movements improves. When a decline begins, there may be health problems, a person begins to get tired quickly, and a loss of strength appears. Last days It is better to devote phases to rest.
2. Emotional(28 days). Show mood swings and nervous system conditions. During a recession, mental confusion is observed, the desire to conflict intensifies, and various fears and pessimism appear.
3. Intelligent(33 days). As one grows older, creative activity increases; a person is lucky in everything. In the phase of decreased biorhythm activity, intellectual activity slows down, reaction speed changes, and the ability to assimilate material decreases.

The central nervous system gives clear commands when to prepare for active physical activity, when to prepare for intellectual activity, when it’s time to eat, when to sleep. Doctors have revealed many features of human biorhythms and their sequence. When planning your day, it is very useful to take these body commands into account.

Biorhythms daily routine

5-6 am- time to wake up. The morning dawns are full of freshness and infuse vigor. By the way, hormones are more actively produced during these hours, which means that early morning is preferable for intimate relationships.

6-7 o'clock in the morning. Best time for physical activity - exercises, jogging, gardening, etc.

7-8 am. The body is ready to accept food: the gastrointestinal tract, liver, pancreas are tuned to activity.

9-12 hours. The most favorable time for intensive intellectual activities. A brain that has rested overnight is ready for intense, focused work. At this time, memorization occurs easier.

12-13 hours. A break from mental activity is required. Rest will be more complete if you fill this hour with some simple physical activity or devote it (if possible) to walking.

13 hours. The body “asks” for food. It’s good to make this time a habit for lunch. Gastric juices necessary for digesting food are produced according to rhythm, which means that digestion will be as complete and rapid as possible. And this will not be a heavy burden for the body.

Until 15:00. Time needed for rest, relaxation, detachment from work. Everyone chooses a form of relaxation according to their taste and capabilities.

15-16 hours. A new rise in activity, important for mental activity, but not as intense as in the morning. At this hour it is good to resolve organizational issues, hold meetings, and business conversations.

16-17 hours. The body requires physical activity - housework, sports. Gymnastic exercises. And after them they are good water procedures, giving a feeling of vigor.

Around 6 p.m. It's time to eat again. Needed in the evening light food, which is quickly absorbed. After all, complete digestion lasts five hours, and it is necessary that the food be completely processed before bedtime.

19-21 hours. A great time for relaxed intellectual activities - reading, enriching yourself with aesthetic impressions. And of course, to communicate with loved ones, friends, children.

After 21 o'clock. Now you need to give your body the opportunity to relax physically and psychologically. Calm music contributes to this. With it you can renounce everything vain, be alone with yourself, reflect, remember something pleasant and even dream.

After 10 pm. The body is preparing for sleep. This biorhythm should not be disrupted by intense mental work, physical activity, or acute impressions. For example, action movies on television are extremely harmful to the nervous system. Shouldn't drink strong tea or coffee - they excite and interfere with the body’s mood.

11 p.m. The best time to fall asleep. Do not try to use it to think about plans for the coming day, and it is even more pointless to make responsible decisions at this time. The body has switched off from its working state, its tone is reduced, it is already in the passive phase of life. And everything that you come up with in the moments of falling asleep will either be forgotten the next day or turn out to be very far from reality.

True, people of creative professions note that before going to bed they are sometimes visited by amazing clarity of thought, and words without any effort are formed into clear and succinct phrases. In such cases, in order not to suffer and not lose what you found, it is better to get up and write down what you managed to formulate, and then throw everything out of your head and fall asleep satisfied. And yet, sleep before midnight is especially useful: one hour is equal to two after midnight.

This pattern of behavior is focused on basic biorhythms. But each organism, due to its characteristics, “deviates” from it to one degree or another. It `s naturally. And yet, the desire of some people to break biorhythms and build their lives contrary to nature is not only unproductive, but also harmful. It is fraught with disorders, mental and physiological, which will only bring suffering.

Periods of activation of human organs

Biorhythms and nutrition

A more detailed examination of the diagram shows that the stage of lung activation occurs at 3-5 o’clock in the morning, and it is at this time that the majority of people rest. Then the large intestine comes into play. Therefore, from 5 to 7 am it is necessary to empty the intestines in order to next stage(7-9 hours) at maximum quantity stomach enzymes, have breakfast and not create problems with digesting food. When food enters the stomach at this time, the products are absorbed to the maximum extent and are not stored as fat deposits. Next, the pancreas comes into play and the work of the digestive system ends at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.

It is necessary, if possible, to take into account the rhythms of the body and build a nutrition system based on these factors, i.e. Be sure to have breakfast between 7 and 9 o’clock to provide your body with a boost of energy for the whole day. But in the evening, when the body wants to rest, do not burden it with digestion heavy products– fatty meat, cutlets or chicken. After all, to process food at this time, the stomach will have to ask for a loan from the organ that will be active at that time. As a result, we will be able to protect ourselves from many diseases and maintain vigor for many years.

When do our internal organs wake up and go to sleep?

The body’s dependence on the Sun manifests itself daily and hourly: in biorhythms. The heart beats in a certain rhythm, the intestines contract and the lungs work. The “operating mode” of the organs directly depends on the dial.

1. Gallbladder wakes up when you ideally should already be sleeping - from 23.00 to 1.00. It plays an important role in cleansing the body and prepares the liver for subsequent work. Also at this time, serotonin, the hormone of pleasure, is actively produced. Let's make a reservation: it is best produced in sleep.
2. Liver most active from 1.00 to 3.00. At this time the main digestive organ literally works hard: removes toxins and cleanses the blood. Help your liver: Avoid late-night drinking and cigarettes.
3. Peak lung function falls between 3.00 and 5.00. It is at this time that climbers prefer to start climbing.
4. Colon starts his “engine” from 5.00 to 7.00. If you are not sleeping at this time - help work important body by drinking a glass of water at room temperature or prune decoction.
5. Stomach is on alert from 7.00 to 9.00. Be sure to have breakfast at this time. By the way, everything eaten before 12.00 will be digested with a bang and will not be stored as fat.
6. Spleen and pancreas active from 9.00 to 11.00. At this time, refrain from sweets - there is no need for excess sugar now.
7. Heart works stronger from 11.00 to 13.00. The pressure rises - don’t overwork, take care of the “fiery engine”.
8. Small intestine operates at full capacity from 13.00 to 15.00. This is the time of active digestion of lunch, the body experiences a natural loss of strength. Don't blame yourself for laziness - it's better to take a walk in the fresh air. After 15.00 my health begins to improve.
9. Bladder comes out at peak 15.00 to 17.00. At this time, it is useful to drink a diuretic or just teas - excess fluid will not linger in the body.
10. Following the bladder, they “wake up” kidneys- from 17.00 to 19.00. Which, in principle, is logical.
11. Circulatory organs“work hard” from 19.00 to 21.00. Body temperature rises.
12. Heat producing organs- from 21.00 to 23.00. After 21.00, the number of white blood cells almost doubles, body temperature drops, and cell renewal continues. The body needs to be prepared for sleep.

From midnight to 1.00 there is an emotional upsurge; many people successfully use this time for creative activities. But between 2.00 and 4.00 it’s the other way around: memory and coordination of movements deteriorate, and slowness in actions appears.

Nature is wise, we must listen to it, we must obey it. In order to maintain physical and mental comfort.

The science that studies rhythm in biology arose at the end of the 18th century. Its founder is considered to be the German doctor Christopher William Gufeland. With his input, for a long period of time, organisms were considered dependent exclusively on external cyclical processes, primarily on the rotation of the Earth around the Sun and its own axis. Today, chronobiology is popular. According to the dominant theory, the causes of biorhythms lie both outside and inside a particular organism. Moreover, changes repeated over time are characteristic not only of individual individuals. They permeate all levels biological systems- from cell to biosphere.

Rhythmicity in biology: definition

Thus, the property under consideration is one of the fundamental characteristics of living matter. Rhythm in biology can be defined as fluctuations in the intensity of processes and physiological reactions. It represents periodic changes in the state of the environment of a living system, arising under the influence of external and internal factors. They are also called synchronizers.

Biorhythms that do not depend on external (acting on the system from outside) factors are endogenous. Exogenous ones, accordingly, do not respond to the influence of internal (acting within the system) synchronizers.

Causes

As already noted, in the first stages of the formation of a new science, rhythm in biology was considered to be determined only by external factors. This theory was replaced by the hypothesis of internal determination. In it external factors played a minor role. However, researchers quickly came to understand the high value of both types of synchronizers. Today it is believed that biological things are endogenous in nature, subject to changes under the influence of the external environment. This idea is at the center of the multioscillatory model of regulation of such processes.

The essence of the theory

According to this concept, endogenous genetically programmed oscillatory processes are influenced by external synchronizers. A huge number of internal rhythmic vibrations of a multicellular organism are arranged in a certain hierarchical order. Its maintenance is based on neurohumoral mechanisms. They coordinate the phase relationships of different rhythms: unidirectional processes proceed synchronously, while incompatible ones work in antiphase.

It is difficult to imagine all this activity without some kind of oscillator (coordinator). In the theory under consideration, three interconnected regulatory systems are distinguished: the pineal gland, the pituitary gland and the adrenal glands. The pineal gland is considered the most ancient.

Presumably, in organisms at low stages of evolutionary development, the pineal gland plays main role. The melatonin it secretes is produced in the dark and breaks down in the light. In fact, it tells all cells the time of day. As the organization becomes more complex, the pineal gland begins to play a second role, yielding primacy to the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus. The question of the relationship in the regulation of biorhythms of both structures has not been fully resolved. In any case, according to the theory, they have a “helper” - the adrenal glands.

Kinds

All biorhythms are divided into two main categories:

physiological are fluctuations in work individual systems body;

ecological, or adaptive, are necessary to adapt to constantly changing environmental conditions.

Also common is the classification proposed by chronobiologist F. Halberg. He took their duration as the basis for dividing biological rhythms:

high frequency fluctuations - from a few seconds to half an hour;

fluctuations mid frequency- from half an hour to six days;

low frequency fluctuations - from six days to a year.

Processes of the first type are breathing, heartbeat, electrical activity brain and other similar rhythmicity in biology. Examples of fluctuations in average frequency are changes throughout the day metabolic processes, sleep and wakefulness patterns. The third includes seasonal, annual and lunar rhythms.

Synchronizers external to a person are divided into social and physical. The first is the daily routine and different standards adopted at work, in everyday life or in society as a whole. Physical synchronizers are represented by the change of day and night, the intensity of electromagnetic fields, fluctuations in temperature, humidity, and so on.

Desynchronization

The ideal state of the body occurs when a person’s internal biorhythms work in accordance with external conditions. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. A condition when there is a mismatch between internal rhythms and external synchronizers is called desynchronosis. It also comes in two versions.

Internal desynchronosis is a mismatch of processes directly in the body. A common example is disruption of sleep-wake rhythms. External desynchronosis is a mismatch between internal biological rhythms and environmental conditions. Such violations occur, for example, when flying from one time zone to another.

Desynchronosis manifests itself in the form of changes in physiological indicators such as blood pressure. It is often accompanied by increased irritability, lack of appetite, fatigue. According to chronobiologists, as mentioned above, any disease is the result of a mismatch of certain oscillatory processes.

Circadian biological rhythms

Understanding the logic of fluctuations in physiological processes allows you to optimally organize activities. In this sense, the importance of biological rhythms lasting about a day is especially great. They are used both to determine the effective and for medical diagnostics, treatment, and even choosing the dose of drugs.

In the human body, a day is a period of fluctuation of a huge number of processes. Some of them change significantly, others - minimally. It is important that the indicators of both do not go beyond the norm, that is, they do not become health threatening.

Temperature fluctuations

Thermoregulation is the key to the constancy of the internal environment, which means proper operation organism for all mammals, including humans. The temperature changes throughout the day, and the range of fluctuations is very small. Minimum indicators typical for the period from one o'clock in the morning to five in the morning, the maximum is recorded around six o'clock in the evening. The amplitude of the oscillations is most often less than one degree.

Cardiovascular and endocrine systems

The work of the main “motor” of the human body is also subject to fluctuations. There are two time points at which the activity of the cardiovascular system decreases: one in the afternoon and nine in the evening.

All hematopoietic organs have their own rhythms. The peak activity of the bone marrow occurs in the early morning, and that of the spleen at eight o'clock in the evening.

The secretion of hormones is also inconsistent throughout the day. The concentration of adrenaline in the blood increases early morning and reaches its peak at nine o'clock. This feature explains the vigor and activity that most often characterize people in the first half of the day.

Midwives know some interesting statistics: labor activity in most cases it starts around midnight. This is also due to the peculiarities of work. By this time, the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland is activated, producing the corresponding hormones.

In the morning - meat, in the evening - milk

For adherents proper nutrition you will be interested in facts related to digestive system. The first half of the day is the time when peristalsis increases gastrointestinal tract, bile production increases. The liver actively consumes glycogen in the morning and releases water. From these patterns, chronobiologists derive simple rules: it is better to eat heavy and fatty foods in the first half of the day, and in the afternoon and evening, dairy products and vegetables are ideal.

Performance

It's no secret that a person's biorhythms affect his activity during the day. Fluctuations different people have their own peculiarities, however it is possible to distinguish general patterns. The three “bird” chronotypes that connect biological rhythms and performance are probably known to everyone. These are “lark”, “owl” and “dove”. The first two are extreme options. “Larks” are full of strength and energy in the morning, they get up easily and go to bed early.

“Owls,” like their prototype, are nocturnal. The active period for them begins at about six in the evening. Getting up early can be very difficult for them to endure. "Pigeons" are able to work both during the day and in the evening. In chronobiology they are called arrhythmics.

Knowing his type, a person can more effectively manage his own activities. However, there is an opinion that any “owl” can become a “lark” with desire and persistence, and the division into three types is due, rather, to habits than to inherent characteristics.

Constant change

The biorhythms of humans and other organisms are not rigid, permanently fixed characteristics. In the process of onto- and phylogenesis, that is, individual development and evolution, they change with certain patterns. What is responsible for such shifts is still not completely clear. There are two main versions on this matter. According to one of them, changes are governed by a mechanism inherent at the cellular level - it can be called

Another hypothesis assigns the main role in this process to geophysical factors that have yet to be studied. Adherents of this theory explain the differences in the biorhythms of individuals by their position on the evolutionary ladder. The higher the level of organization, the more intense the metabolism. In this case, the nature of the indicators does not change, but the amplitude of the fluctuation increases. They consider rhythm itself in biology and its synchronization with geophysical processes as the result of work natural selection, leading to the transformation of an external (for example, the change of day and night) into an internal (period of activity and sleep) rhythm fluctuation.

Effect of age

Chronobiologists were able to establish that in the process of ontogenesis, depending on the stage the organism passes through, circadian rhythms change. Each development has its own fluctuations internal systems. Moreover, changes in biological rhythms are subject to a certain pattern described Russian specialist G.D. Gubin. It is convenient to consider it using the example of mammals. In them, such changes are associated primarily with the amplitudes of circadian rhythms. From the first stages of individual development, they increase and reach a maximum in young and mature age. Then the amplitudes begin to decrease.

These are not the only changes in rhythms associated with age. The sequence of acrophases also change (acrophase is the point in time when the maximum value of the parameter is observed) and the range values age norm(chronodesma). If we take into account all these changes, it becomes obvious that it is in adulthood that biorhythms are perfectly coordinated and the human body is able to withstand various external influences, maintaining your health. Over time, the situation changes. As a result of the mismatch between different rhythms, the health reserve gradually runs out.

Chronobiologists propose using such patterns to predict diseases. Based on knowledge about the peculiarities of fluctuations in a person’s circadian rhythms throughout life, it is theoretically possible to construct a certain graph reflecting the health reserve, its maximums and minimums over time. Such testing is a thing of the future, according to most scientists. However, there are theories that make it possible to construct something similar to such a graph now.

Three rhythms

Let’s lift the veil of secrecy a little and tell you how to determine your biorhythms. The calculations in them are made on the basis of the theory of the psychologist Hermann Svoboda, the doctor Wilhelm Fiss and the engineer Alfred Teltscher, created by them at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The essence of the concept is that there are three rhythms: physical, emotional and intellectual. They arise at the moment of birth and throughout life do not change their frequency:

physical - 23 days;

emotional - 28 days;

intellectual - 33 days.

If you plot their changes over time, it will take the form of a sinusoid. For all three parameters, the part of the wave above the Ox axis corresponds to a rise in indicators; below it there is a zone of decline in physical, emotional and mental capabilities. Biorhythms, which can be calculated using a similar graph, at the point of intersection with the axis signal the beginning of a period of uncertainty, when the body’s resistance to environmental influences greatly decreases.

Definition of indicators

You can calculate biological rhythms based on this theory yourself. To do this, you need to calculate how long you have already lived: multiply your age by the number of days in a year (don’t forget that there are 366 of them in a leap year). The resulting figure must be divided by the frequency of the biorhythm whose graph you are plotting (23, 28 or 33). You will get some integer and remainder. Multiply the whole part again by the duration of a particular biorhythm? f subtract the resulting value from the number of days lived. The remainder will be the number of days in the period currently.

If the obtained value does not exceed one-fourth of the cycle duration, this is the rise time. Depending on the biorhythm, it implies vigor and physical activity, good mood and emotional stability, creative inspiration and intellectual stimulation. A value equal to half the duration of the period symbolizes a time of uncertainty. Being in the last third of the duration of any biorhythm means being in the zone of decline in activity. At this time, a person tends to get tired faster, the risk of illness increases if we're talking about O physical cycle. Emotionally, there is a decrease in mood up to depression, a deterioration in the ability to restrain strong internal impulses. At the level of intelligence, the period of decline is characterized by difficulty in making decisions and some inhibition of thought.

Relation to theory

In the scientific world, the concept of three biorhythms in this format is usually criticized. There is no sufficient basis to suggest that anything in the human body can be so immutable. This is evidenced by all the discovered patterns that govern rhythm in biology, the characteristics of internal processes characteristic of different levels living systems. Therefore, the described calculation method and the entire theory are most often proposed to be considered as an interesting option for spending time, but not a serious concept on the basis of which you should plan your activities.

The biological rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, therefore, is not the only one existing in the body. All systems that make up our body are subject to vibrations, and not only at the level of such large formations as the heart or lungs. Rhythmic processes are inherent in cells, and therefore are characteristic of living matter as a whole. The science that studies such fluctuations is still quite young, but is already striving to explain many of the patterns that exist in human life and throughout nature. The evidence already accumulated suggests that the potential of chronobiology is indeed very high. Perhaps, in the near future, doctors will also begin to follow its principles, prescribing doses of drugs in accordance with the characteristics of the phase of a particular biological rhythm.