The summer solstice affects the sleep-wake cycles of animals, and scientists have been interested in determining these effects, and how wild animals adapt to this change in those cycles. Read also New study: Adjusting the biological clock is the key to healthy organisms A scientific surprise: bacteria can tell time معرفة A new study explores how melatonin promotes sleep Sleep is that mystery .. why do we lose it and how do we get it back?
But without a clock, people may ignore their bedtime because humans are poor at telling time during periods of light or darkness, according to a 1974 study published in the Journal of Physiology. Light has a significant impact on the human body’s circadian rhythm, or the sleep-wake cycle.
This
Solstice
A solstice is the phenomenon of the sun reaching the maximum elevation and low points in the arc of the daily trajectory of its seasonal movement before reversing its course.
There are two annual solstices: the solstice on June 21, known as the “summer solstice” because it is the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. And the solar solstice on December 21, and it is known as the “winter solstice” because it is the first day of winter and it is the shortest day of the year.
The summer solstice, or Midsummer Festival which is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, occurs when the Earth’s tilt toward the sun is at its zenith and the sun points directly over the Tropic of Cancer.
Where the North Pole of the Earth tilts towards the Sun, the summer officially begins, the days are long and the nights short, and the sun’s rays are completely perpendicular to the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere.
The seasonal equinox is the time when the center of the sun is directly above the equator, and it occurs twice a year.
All these cosmic phenomena are related to the agricultural seasons, the harvest, and the livelihood of human beings. Therefore, many holidays, festivals and various festive occasions coincide with the occurrence of these phenomena and the midpoints between them. The United Nations celebrates the International Day of the Solstice on 21 June every year.
sleep rhythms
, University of Alaska Fairbanks biologist Corey Williams said in a report Many animals in northern latitudes can naturally control their sleep-wake cycles in harsh daytime conditions Live Science . “There are animals that stop sleeping for a long time” and give up their usual circadian rhythm during this time of year, he added.
For example, semi-wet sandbirds (Calidris pusilla), the small brown-and-white shorebirds that breed above the Arctic Circle, are unaffected by long daylights. It alternates sleeping and waking hours with a nesting buddy throughout the day.
Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) also ignore the absence of the light-dark cycle during the summer months. Instead, her sleep cycles are in a hyper-fast cadence, which means she sleeps whenever she needs to digest food.
“She’s missing out on the long sleep she normally gets,” Williams said. “She takes a lot of naps during the day rather than one focused sleep,” he added.
This only happens in polar species, Williams explained, because their behavior is not affected by the cycles of light and dark. During this time of the year, the animal’s activity advantage at a certain time of day is lost. For example, foraging for food at night does not provide energy or protection from predators due to the fact that it is daylight all the time.
But not all polar species abandon their circadian rhythm. For example, polar ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii) stick to their sleep schedules all year round. They withdraw into their burrows during the darkest part of the day in summer (which is still not as dark as twilight) to save energy.
Scientists like Williams are still working to discover what’s different about polar animals that maintain ingrained sleep rhythms. As global average temperatures rise, the animals are moving to higher latitudes, “so it will be interesting to see how animals that have not been exposed to polar conditions respond as they move north,” Williams said.