Sleep and the Biological Clock

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/opinion/sleep-and-the-biological-clock.html

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To the Editor:

Re “The Sleeping Cure” (Sunday Review, March 12):

Dr. Richard A. Friedman rightly points to the circadian system — our biological clock — as playing a critical role in our ability to sleep well. Think of the circadian system as a switch that tells your body when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to be awake.

Ignoring your biological clock when dealing with sleep is the biological equivalent of ignoring road conditions when planning a road trip in your car. You might drive with peak performance on a warm and sunny day, but less so on a stormy night.

Jet lag from crossing numerous time zones is the blizzard of the biological clock, causing substantial disruption to your sleep-wake patterns for days or longer. This can wreak havoc on mood and the many other biological functions that rely on healthy sleep.

Fortunately, unlike the weather, we have some influence over this system.

JEFFREY M. ELLENBOGENBALTIMORE

The writer is a neurologist and sleep specialist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.