Influence of exogenous zeitgebers may be overstated

    Cards (4)

    • Laughton Miles et al (1977) recount the story of a young man blind from birth with a circadian rhythm of 24.9 hours
    • despite exposure to social cues, his sleep/wake cycle could not be adjusted and consequently he had to take sedatives at night and stimulants in the morning to keep pace with the 24 hour world
    • similarly studies of individuals who live in Arctic regions (where the sun does not set during the summer months) show normal sleep patterns despite the prolonged exposure to light
    • both these examples suggest that they are occasions when exogenous zeitgebers may have little bearing on our internal rhythm
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