WILT #34: Why I’m Not a Morning Person but I am a Martian Candidate

WILT #34: Why I’m Not a Morning Person but I am a Martian Candidate

I am Not a Morning Person. I’ve been able to get up for school and jobs, historically, but I don’t have to any more since I work for myself and that only enables me further. I don’t think it’s something I can change though. I love sleep, I love staying up late and I love to dream as long as I can.

I found this article on howstuffworks.com about sleep patterns and the history of humans and the dark in a podcast by “Stuff to blow your mind” a show I listen to regularly. Having an abnormal circadian clock actually has its benefits though because NASA is looking for people like us!

For years, researchers have been amassing evidence that abnormal circadian rhythms have some pretty worrisome effects. Not only can they result in poor sleep, but also are related to health problems such as obesity, diabetes, depression, bipolar disorder and seasonal affective disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health. And to make matters worse, a new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that evolution actually tends to weed out individuals with genetic mutations that throw their master body clocks out of kilter.

If you’ve got a circadian rhythm abnormality, this all might seem like pretty depressing news. But don’t worry! There’s also an upside, according to one of the scientists involved in the study: If you’ve got ambitions of joining NASA and exploring or even terraforming another planet, you may be unusually well qualified. But more on that later — first, let’s dig into the findings of that new research.

Read the whole article and see some cool videos here: http://now.howstuffworks.com/2016/02/03/mars-circadian-rhythms

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