Are day and night programmed into our genes like eating and releasing or is it learned?

Question

This question has been bugging me and I'd ask for serious questions only please.

I want to know just how do we humans work with day and night.
Assume that we take a child who is trained to be nocturnal where he plays, eats, and learns during night but sleeps during the day. Will he take that in as his new internal clock schedule or will he eventually sleep at night and work during the day? A question of the human psyche.

Answer 1

You are probably thinking of what are known as circadian rhythms. We function on a cycle that requires both sleep/rest and activity. It seems like this rhythm is governed by the suprachiasmatic nucleus, located in the hypothalmus, and the pineal gland.

Answer 2

There are two variables to look at here: how the environment affects our sleep pattern, and how our biological clock (or "genes" as you say) affects it. In a natural environment, it would make sense that we'd prefer to be awake during the day since we can see better in the light. But living in the city, with electricity and whatnot, eliminates that, so I don't think environmental queues would change our sleep pattern beyond convenience. As for our biological clock, there is an internal clock that tells us when we should be sleeping, regardless of how tired we are. I heard once that this clock is set on a 25 hour day, which puts us slightly off with the 24 hour day we have. Some people think this is why it's hard to get up in the morning. There was actually an experiment done (don't know who did it or where or when) in which some volunteers spent months in isolation underground, with no queues about the time of day or year, to see how that would affect their sleep patterns. Most of the volunteers reverted to a 25 hour day soon after being put in isolation.

Answer 3

While it is true that our bodies are governed by wake and sleep, we cannot forget about the importance of rest. I read somewhere that darkness releases a hormone that makes us get more rest when we sleep. Of course, darkness can be simulated with expensive blinds and drapes.

Some food for thought on the subject of day and night: In nature, a woman's monthly cycle is regulated by the lunar stages. In other words, women who live outside together, will all have basically the same cycle. I cannot remember the author for this reference, but the title of the essay is "High Tide in Tucson." An interesting read. At any rate, if our bodies can be regulated by darkness, it stands to reason that our sleep (and the amount of rest we gain while sleeping) can, too.

Just my 2 pennies. No scientist here!

Answer 4

The pineal gland is believed to be responsible for our daily waking and sleeping rhythm, in the sense that we have a rhythm. It can be changed because people do adapt when they travel to other time zones.

HOWEVER, we do have inborn cycles that vary from one another. Night people don't get tired until late into the night and take a long time to wake up in the morning. Morning people crash and burn as the sun goes down and jump out of bed with the sunrise.

To answer your question, can we retrain someone to live according to a different schedule? Sure. Will it be long lasting? Probably not, unless it is his/her natural, biological cycle.

Answer 5

our bodies are programmed to naturally work within a certain circadium rhythm. we wake around dawn and sleep at dusk naturally. of course, lots of people try to fool these circadiam rhythms. Working the nightshift, sleeping during the day, and trying to stay awake using artificial stimulants are all examples of our attempts to fool our bodies into staying awake. so as far as your question goes, the child would have a REALLY hard time with this schedule. he'd probably sleep very little and run into problems down the road. this is why it's best to get as much sleep as you can!!

Answer 6

It is learned. Babies sleep when they sleep. As they age,we start to put them on sleep schedules which continue throughout our lives.It is broken up partying and work shift changes.In the early days of humanity only day work was possible before lamps and electric lights,thus nights were for sleeping. Trained differently and that will become natural. Peace.

Answer 7

I do not believe it is programmed into our genes,though a child brought up to be nocturnal may choose to continue with that life style because it is what he knows best

Answer 8

Night and day doesn't matter , how do I know this . I am in Alaska , and the sun is not going to set til September.