Circadian Rhythms: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #517

by Russell Foster, Leon Kreitzman

The earth's daily rotation affects just about every living creature. From dawn through to dusk, there are changes in light, temperature, humidity, and rainfall. However, these changes are regular, rhythmic and, therefore, predictable. Thus, the near 24 hour circadian rhythm is innate: a genetically programmed clock that essentially ticks of its own accord.
This Very Short Introduction explains how organisms can "know" the time and reveals what we now understand of the nature and operation of chronobiological processes. Covering variables such as light, the metabolism, human health, and the seasons, Foster and Kreitzman illustrate how jet lag and shift work can impact on human well-being, and consider circadian rhythms alongside a wide range of disorders, from schizophrenia to obesity.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Biology, Health, Psychology, Medical, Evolution

168 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2017

Reviews

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nifty, concise introduction to the circadian rhythms of the body, of you: from genes to proteins, to tissues, organs and the body as a whole; an intriguing phenomenon expertly explained in plain terms. Be sure to also check out the more worked out version of hacking the circadian rhythms, including sensible tips on diet, excercise and sleep: The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight.

[Aleksandr · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5.

I wonder how many findings presented in the book will be replicated, but even then, a great primer on the topic.

The read is pretty technical (for a very short introduction), explaining the underlying biological mechanisms throughout several chapters. Honestly, I just skipped them -- you will be able to understand the overall picture anyway. Some facts are pretty amazing, if you, like me, have completely forgotten your school biology classes.

The focus thus lies on animals and plants in general, so there's relatively few information on human behavior. It is a good start to learn what circadian rhythms are, but, sadly, you won't find much advice on practical questions such as "how to fix your circadian rhythms and sleep better" or like.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The topic of circadian rhythms is intrinsically very interesting, and much of the information included in this book should become general knowledge, not to mention dictate real policy.
That said, this book was not uniformly great. There were extensive digressions into the exact genetic and biomolecular mechanisms involved that don’t mean anything to a non biologist, and doesn’t even provide you with a general understanding; either you learn the specifics of how that plant regulates tht exact process, or you don’t learn anything at all. It just didn’t make sense for that to be so predominant in a ‘very short introduction’

[Usfromdk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a very decent book on these topics. The second half of the book in particular is somewhat technical for a publication of this nature and some background knowledge from the fields of molecular biology and genetics is required to derive full benefit from that part of the coverage.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book but not an easy read. I found the chapter relating circadian rhythms to metabolism almost incomprehensible. I felt it may have been sufficient to use more schematic descriptions of the systems but I appreciated the attempt to be rigorous.

[Jarmo Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is far from as good as Satchin Pandas "The Circadian Code". Although this one can give some interesting points around our circadian biology, it focuses mostly on animals and plants, not as much on humans. The second half of this book is so technical, with so many abreviations of difficult and comlicated expressions and words that you can easly loose your track, and instead of being "A Very Short Introduction" it rather becomes the opposite. If you want to dig really deep into the circadian functions and the technical details, and got time for it, this one can be a good one for you.

[Danica Lam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first few chapters the most—clear, engaging, and accessible. As the book progressed, it became more technical than I expected for a “Very Short Introduction.” I didn’t retain much from the later chapters, although I appreciated that each one ended with a short section tying the complex material back to practical insights. I wish the book had included more applicable information, but perhaps that’s limited by the early stage of circadian rhythm research.

[Caroline Barron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fav quote:
There have been over a trillion dawns and dusks since life began some 3.8 billion years ago. (- Page 1)

Fav new word:
Zeitbeber: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti...
An environmental agent or event (such as the occurrence of light or dark) that provides the stimulus setting or resetting a biological clock of an organism

[William Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, but extensive and quite technical (i.e., numerous chapters on the complex cellular signalling pathways) review. The front-half of the work is useful for those not versed, or particularly fascinated, by the technicalities, the latter-half, useful for those wanting/needing a refreshing guide to the complexities of one area of neuroscience.

[Stuart Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really an introduction for the layman with its in depth discussions about genetics and deep medical terminology.
I have some knowledge of medical terms but I still struggled to wade through this short book.
Some interesting stuff within the hard science.

[Agafya Spark · Rating 4 out of 5]

extensive and technical read

[Dipesh Gautam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Jorvon Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to circadian rhythms. Parts of the book are highly technical, too technical for a casual introduction.

[Kieran Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did exactly what I wanted it to do.

[Silviu Popescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very technical, but also very well structured and informative. Need to try another very short introduction of this kind.

[Qonita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Kecuali bab-bab yg sangat teknis, ada tiap 2-3 halaman sekali kali aku nganga tercengang sama fakta-fakta tentang irama sirkadian ini. Kek, kenapa aku ga pernah belajar ini di sekolah???? Irama sirkadian adalah salah satu mekanisme mendasar yang mendorong hampir semua sistem dalam makhluk hidup, tapi jarang banget didiskusikan di pembelajaran biologi formal. Bahwa peristiwa dalam tubuh kita bersiklus dengan jadwal itu sekilas mungkin bukan fakta yang praktis, jadi dia kalah pamor dengan metabolisme, dogma sentral, taksonomi, dan topik-topik populer lain. Tapi hal-hal yang baru aku pelajari di sini mengisi banyak banget gap dalam tabungan pengetahuan aku. Takjub banget menemukan bahwa hal-hal yang dulu aku sadari dan terima sebagai fenomenologi/sunatullah ternyata sudah bisa dijelaskan dengan saintifik dan komprehensif. Misalnya kenapa aku super fokus di malam hari, kenapa bunga sakura mekar di musim semi, kenapa ga baik makan malam-malam, kenapa ada jet lag, kenapa aku bisa bangun sendiri dg cukup akurat (jam 6 dan 7.45 dg SD 10 menit), kenapa burung bisa migrasi (karena organ reproduksinya ditahan biar ga tumbuh sama irama sirkadian jadi badannya ringan, GELO GAK), dan banyak lagi! On another note, this particular AVSI is quite rigorous and technical, probably the most out of the AVSIs that I've read. I personally don't want to memorize pathways irrelevant to my study now so I just skimmed that part. Still enjoyable and worth my time ×10 tho. Rekomen untuk semua orang!

[Ida Aasebøstøl · Rating 3 out of 5]

PTOs! Come on, work at it, I'm ready for part 2 now!