Foster Russell G, Roenneberg Till
Circadian and Visual Neuroscience, Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, University of Oxford, Levels 5 & 6 West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK.
Curr Biol. 2008 Sep 9;18(17):R784-R794. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.07.003.
Collectively the daily, seasonal, lunar and tidal geophysical cycles regulate much of the temporal biology of life on Earth. The increasing isolation of human societies from these geophysical cycles, as a result of improved living conditions, high-quality nutrition and 24/7 working practices, have led many to believe that human biology functions independently of them. Yet recent studies have highlighted the dominant role that our circadian clock plays in the organisation of 24 hour patterns of behaviour and physiology. Preferred wake and sleep times are to a large extent driven by an endogenous temporal program that uses sunlight as an entraining cue. The alarm clock can drive human activity rhythms but has little direct effect on our endogenous 24 hour physiology. In many situations, our biology and our society appear to be in serious opposition, and the damaging consequences to our health under these circumstances are increasingly recognised. The seasons dominate the lives of non-equatorial species, and until recently, they also had a marked influence on much of human biology. Despite human isolation from seasonal changes in temperature, food and photoperiod in the industrialised nations, the seasons still appear to have a small, but significant, impact upon when individuals are born and many aspects of health. The seasonal changes that modulate our biology, and how these factors might interact with the social and metabolic status of the individual to drive seasonal effects, are still poorly understood. Lunar cycles had, and continue to have, an influence upon human culture, though despite a persistent belief that our mental health and other behaviours are modulated by the phase of the moon, there is no solid evidence that human biology is in any way regulated by the lunar cycle.
每日、季节、月球和潮汐的地球物理周期共同调节着地球上生命的大部分时间生物学。由于生活条件改善、高质量营养和全天候工作模式，人类社会与这些地球物理周期的隔离日益增加，这使许多人认为人类生物学功能独立于它们。然而，最近的研究强调了我们的生物钟在24小时行为和生理模式组织中所起的主导作用。偏好的清醒和睡眠时间在很大程度上由一个内源性时间程序驱动，该程序将阳光用作同步线索。闹钟可以驱动人类活动节奏，但对我们内源性的24小时生理几乎没有直接影响。在许多情况下，我们的生物学和社会似乎严重对立，在这种情况下对我们健康的有害后果越来越受到认可。季节主导着非赤道物种的生活，直到最近，它们也对人类生物学的许多方面产生了显著影响。尽管工业化国家的人们与温度、食物和光周期的季节性变化隔绝，但季节似乎仍然对个体的出生时间和许多健康方面产生微小但显著的影响。调节我们生物学的季节性变化，以及这些因素如何与个体的社会和代谢状态相互作用以产生季节性影响，仍然知之甚少。月球周期过去和现在都对人类文化有影响，尽管人们一直认为我们的心理健康和其他行为受月相调节，但没有确凿证据表明人类生物学以任何方式受月球周期调节。
