Port Medical Center - Clinic

09/12/2025

03/12/2025

03/12/2025

Your body has a master clock hidden deep in the brain, and it quietly controls almost everything you feel during the day.
This chart shows what that clock is actually doing, and why your sleep, hunger, hormones, energy, and mood follow the same 24-hour rhythm every single day.

Here’s the simple breakdown:

⏰ The “master clock” lives in the "SCN" (as its abbreviated)
Located in the hypothalamus, it takes in light from your eyes and uses it to reset your entire system.
• Light in the morning tells your brain: wake up, raise cortisol, increase alertness.
• Darkness at night flips the switch: make melatonin, lower body temperature, prepare for sleep.

🌙 Melatonin rises only when the SCN says it’s dark
The pineal gland releases melatonin to start the sleep process.
If light hits your eyes at night (phones, TVs, bright LEDs), that signal can shut off or slow down.

😴 Serotonin and melatonin are linked
During the day, serotonin helps regulate mood and alertness.
At night, the system converts part of that serotonin into melatonin to drive sleep timing.

🧠 Your organs follow the brain’s schedule
Every major organ has its own “clock genes,” and they all sync to the SCN.
That’s why timing matters:

Daytime:
• Muscle: glycolytic metabolism and strength performance peak
• Liver: glycogen and cholesterol synthesis
• Pancreas: insulin secretion
• Fat: lipogenesis and adiponectin production

Nighttime:
• Muscle: oxidative metabolism and repair
• Liver: gluconeogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis
• Pancreas: glucagon secretion
• Fat: lipid breakdown and leptin release (signals satiety)

In other words:
Your biology isn’t the same at 8 AM as it is at 8 PM.

🍽️ Food and activity act as “secondary clocks”
Eating late, irregular sleep, shift work, or inconsistent light exposure can confuse these clocks and throw off hormones, metabolism, and mood.

This is why:
• Morning light improves sleep
• Regular mealtimes stabilize metabolism
• Late-night eating increases glucose spikes
• Consistent sleep strengthens hormone rhythms
• Exercise timing can shift circadian signals

Your circadian rhythm isn’t just about sleep.
It’s a full-body timing system coordinating hormones, temperatur

03/12/2025

Your body has a master clock hidden deep in the brain, and it quietly controls almost everything you feel during the day.
This chart shows what that clock is actually doing, and why your sleep, hunger, hormones, energy, and mood follow the same 24-hour rhythm every single day.

Here’s the simple breakdown:

⏰ The “master clock” lives in the "SCN" (as its abbreviated)
Located in the hypothalamus, it takes in light from your eyes and uses it to reset your entire system.
• Light in the morning tells your brain: wake up, raise cortisol, increase alertness.
• Darkness at night flips the switch: make melatonin, lower body temperature, prepare for sleep.

🌙 Melatonin rises only when the SCN says it’s dark
The pineal gland releases melatonin to start the sleep process.
If light hits your eyes at night (phones, TVs, bright LEDs), that signal can shut off or slow down.

😴 Serotonin and melatonin are linked
During the day, serotonin helps regulate mood and alertness.
At night, the system converts part of that serotonin into melatonin to drive sleep timing.

🧠 Your organs follow the brain’s schedule
Every major organ has its own “clock genes,” and they all sync to the SCN.
That’s why timing matters:

Daytime:
• Muscle: glycolytic metabolism and strength performance peak
• Liver: glycogen and cholesterol synthesis
• Pancreas: insulin secretion
• Fat: lipogenesis and adiponectin production

Nighttime:
• Muscle: oxidative metabolism and repair
• Liver: gluconeogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis
• Pancreas: glucagon secretion
• Fat: lipid breakdown and leptin release (signals satiety)

In other words:
Your biology isn’t the same at 8 AM as it is at 8 PM.

🍽️ Food and activity act as “secondary clocks”
Eating late, irregular sleep, shift work, or inconsistent light exposure can confuse these clocks and throw off hormones, metabolism, and mood.

This is why:
• Morning light improves sleep
• Regular mealtimes stabilize metabolism
• Late-night eating increases glucose spikes
• Consistent sleep strengthens hormone rhythms
• Exercise timing can shift circadian signals

Your circadian rhythm isn’t just about sleep.
It’s a full-body timing system coordinating hormones, temperature, digestion, metabolism, and repair.

Get your light, food, and sleep aligned…
And the rest of your biology starts working with you instead of against you.

Graphic citation: Unknown
Research citation: PMID: 11584554

03/12/2025

Studies have found that showering before bed helps people sleep better and live longer. This is because showering before bed helps leverage the body’s natural cooling process: a warm shower increases your core body temperature, and the subsequent cooldown after getting out signals your brain that it’s time to sleep.

It also has physical and mental benefits, like soothing muscles and reducing stress, which further contribute to a good night’s rest. This improved sleep quality is linked to a longer and healthier life because it supports the body’s repair processes, improves heart health, boosts immunity and reduces the risk of chronic diseases.

To elaborate, a warm shower causes your blood vessels to widen, increasing circulation. When you get out, your body rapidly cools down, a process that mimics the natural temperature drop before sleep and helps trigger the release of sleep-promoting melatonin.

Warm water also helps relax the nervous system and can lower cortisol (the stress hormone), leading to a calmer state of mind that prepares you for sleep.

Also, people who shower before bed spend more time in deep, restorative sleep stages, which are crucial for physical repair and memory consolidation.

NO PMID AVAILABLE YET. SOURCE: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/3495/