Maria Konnikova Quotes

It was always intriguing that flies had two peaks of activity, in the morning and evening, with a siesta during the day and not very much activity at night. There are several ways to explain that, but one possibility was that there were two clocks running - one governing the morning peak and one governing the evening peak.

There is actually a physical connection between light and our health and wellbeing.

Life evolved under conditions of light and darkness, light and then darkness. And so plants and animals developed their own internal clocks so that they would be ready for these changes in light. These are chemical clocks, and they're found in every known being that has two or more cells and in some that only have one cell.

When you're in nature, when you're going to bed when the sun goes down and getting up when the sun rises, and you get into that rhythm, your body just really responds positively to it.

Limit or eliminate late-night computer and television viewing. A computer or TV screen may seem much dimmer than a light bulb, but these screens often fill your field of vision, mimicking the effects of a room filled with light.

Most of us know that the hormone melatonin helps regulate our sleep. But it also seems to play another role - suppressing cancer growth.

I wake up as soon as it gets light.

A functional biological clock has three components: input from the outside world to set the clock, the timekeeping mechanism itself, and genetic machinery that allows the clock to regulate expression of a variety of genes.

Most important for the circadian field was the pioneering work of Ron Konopka in Seymour's lab.

Melatonin levels start to rise around 9 or 10 at night in most people.

Light is a profound degrader of our sleep.

The same biological clock ticks away in humans and fruit flies, which underscores the importance of circadian timing to life on this planet.

It was morning by the clock but deepest nighttime in his body.

Biological clock? I don't even own a watch.

The way we metabolize our experience of time influences our biological clock.

Testosterone levels are highest in the morning.

I feel like my body doesn't judge the hours, you know? It doesn't care if it's daytime or nighttime.

I'm an afternoon person.

If you can wiggle your toes with the mere flicker of an intention, why can't you reset your biological clock?

You can get the highest quality sleep by keeping your sleep cycles in tune with the rhythms of the universe (known as circadian rhythms).

I love a sleep mask, havin' total darkness is essential for good sleep, you know, cuttin' that light out of your eyes.

While both plants and animals awaken via distinct changes in metabolic functioning, most plants prefer to err on the side of caution, waiting for hints of full-on summer before they bloom.

Jet lag is tough, to be honest. For me, it's much easier to force yourself to stay awake.

It's always morning for me until 4 in the afternoon.

The physical malaise we feel when we travel reflects a desynchronizing of all the clocks that reside in our tissues.