Time on your hands and everywhere else: A Noah’s Ark Science Story:
The animals remained in the dining room, munching on tonight’s dessert, rhubarb pie. The Star Gazer, sitting near the German Land Lizard, commented on the pie. “I guess the chef does not believe in using sugar. This pie is the poster child for what it means to swallow your tongue.”
The German Land Lizard grunted. “The pie is just like I like it. Being tart means it has spirit and shouldn’t be eaten by wimps.”
The Star Gazer turned away, disgusted, and mumbled under his breath, “More Kraut Wagnerian claptrap.”
Hohum and the Single Haired Loop stood together at the podium in the dining room. Ho-hum banged on his wine glass. “Quiet, please. Delighted, is that the word, to have the Loop be the first speaker on our Science Friday series. No doubt his stories will entertain you, and you might even learn a thing or two. So, let’s hear your big Ark welcome.
The room was silent.
Hohum pleaded, “Oh come on. How about a little bit of a generous appreciation.
The room continued to be silent.
The Single Haired Loop ignored the silence. “Look, I have a topic for tonight that you will find interesting. What I will tell you is something that has a huge impact on all of our lives. What I have to say will amaze you.”
The Goose Gobbler shouted, “What will amaze me is seeing you dancing with the Cat to the beat of our Ark Jazz band.”
The Night Stork pulled one of the Gobbler’s feathers. “Don’t be such a prig. Let’s hear the Loop’s story.”
The Single Haired Loop thanked the Stork and then started the evening science story.
He started by saying, “I am having no luck in resetting my watch.”
The Stunt Turned Pecker interrupted, “That’s what you get for buying a knockoff:”
Loop replied, “Pecker, the watch I am talking about is one you couldn’t afford to buy on the street. It comes built-in with the rest of your body, not optional, just there, and powerful.
Pecker again spoke up. “What are you talking about.” Who in his right mind wears a watch inside their skin. Explain yourself, Loop.”
“Ok, What I want to tell you about is a special clock, a biological clock. I will tell you a little bit about it now and more later, maybe.”
Pecker, looking puzzled, “Maybe you can tell us more on a night that we don’t get served rhubarb pie.”
A chorus of ‘shut up’ shouts followed. The Night Stork jumped up, “Damn it. Let Loop speak.”
Loop continued. “Biological clocks in our body control circadian rhythms that can affect every function in our body. Functions like body temperature, how awake you are, the effect of any drug you might be taking, even your sense of the taste of rhubarb pie, and so much more are under your clock’s influence.
Your circadian clock is an ancient, time-keeping mechanism that has evolved throughout our evolution. If you are interested, we know something about where the biological clock is located.1
You might think of your biological clock as a musical conductor directing the appropriate period and phase of activity of all sorts of physiological processes throughout your body, from every cell on up. Mess with that clock, and you are in for big trouble. It can disrupt and exacerbate, or even cause, diseases from metabolic to mood disorders and even addiction.
The animals sat stunned, overwhelmed, by what the Loop had told them.
The Night Stork stood up. “Loop, I have to say Wow!! I’m not even aware of my clock, and you are telling me that if we are walking around with a defective clock, it is worse than missing tea time.”
Loop then continued. Let me make some of this very real to you. I can tell you that you have always known about your biological clock. You just haven’t thought about it in the way I am presenting it to you. You know more about your clock than you think.
All of you run on different schedules. Some of you are morning people, and others like sleeping in and can go forever at night. There are times of day when you are more alert than at other times. The drugs you take can have different effects depending on when you take them. That makes sense since the clock regulates the activity of your neurotransmitters, your hormones, therefore the effectiveness of the drug you are taking. The taste of the rhubarb pie you ate tonight is in part determined by the chemical concert played out in your mouth and nose.
Here is a really dramatic example of the clock at work in how we function. I bet back in Medina, some of you have been around old animals (people) who had become demented. For much of the time, they can remember nothing going on in their lives. They seem totally out of it, can’t do even simple self-care kinds of things. But guess what. Some, perhaps even many, of these patients can surprise you. For maybe a couple of hours in the morning, they seem to be more alert, more capable of doing the kinds of things they had done in their past. It is amazing how different they can appear to us. Alas, I like that word; as the day progresses, what they could do that morning is gone as if it never happened. We attribute that to time of day but wait, time of day is the biological clock ticking away. The clock has enormous power and should never be purchased as a knockoff. I wish I could reset my biological clock.
Pecker shouted, “And I wish we were dancing.”