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Energy peaks and troughs
It’s important to know that our energy level won’t remain constant throughout the day; there will be natural dips. In fact, scientists have identified 2.16 p.m. as the time most of us experience an energy dip, so if you get a slump around this time it does not mean that anything is ‘wrong’.
Some energy lows are of our own doing – caused by those late nights or too much caffeine – but the conductor of our energy levels is a cluster of cells that lie deep within our brains, directing our daily release of hormones, our shifts in body temperature and our blood pressure. This conductor produces what are called ‘circadian rhythms’.
Research has shown that one of the most powerful regulators of our internal body clock or circadian rhythm is light. When photoreceptors in our eyes and other places absorb light, they send a signal to our brains to stop producing melatonin, the so-called sleep hormone. With light comes a cessation of melatonin production, and our gradually increasing body temperature makes us feel alert. During the day our temperature fluctuates, rising in the mid-morning, hitting a low at around 3 p.m. and then rising again in mid-afternoon; this could explain why we often get a second wind around this time. By 11 p.m., when the lights are usually turned off, melatonin production starts and temperature, heart rate and blood pressure drop in preparation for sleep.