Rhythms of Sleeping & Waking

    Biological clock - An internal biological mechanism which controls certain biological rhythms and bio cycles, such as metabolism, sleep cycles.

    Circadian rhythm - a daily cycle of activity observed in many living organisms

The location of biological clocks:

Suprachiasmatic nucleus - part of the hypothalamus
Interval timing clock - located in the basal ganglia

Circadian Problems & Treatments:

Accidents
Jet lag - fatigue and sleep disturbance resulting from disruption of the body's normal circadian rhythm as a result of jet travel.
Resetting the clock - light therapy
Melatonin - This hormone is produced by the pineal gland (located at the center of the brain) at night. It is believed to regulate the body's biological clock and reproductive cycles and has been found to improve the quality of sleep in elderly insomniacs.

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Topics in Psychology
Robert C. Gates