Suprachiasmatic nucleus (was: The r-word)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Jim opens the door to further discussion of suprachiasmatic-nucleic matters.

As everyone knows, time seems to accelerate as you get older. I happened to
mention this to our neighbors the other day and got a provocative
explanation:

"We have a friend who is a _strong_ Christian, and she said to me, 'Did you
ever stop to think that maybe the Lord is speeding things up so he can come
back sooner?'"

I first noticed the speed-up in the early '60s, so possibly it began then.
(The '50s seemed normal.)

JL






I first noticed this, definitively, in the early '60s, so it's been going
on
But to the point.
On Sat, Feb 25, 2012 at 8:38 AM, James A. Landau <JJJRLandau at netscape.com> <
JJJRLandau at netscape.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "James A. Landau <JJJRLandau at netscape.com>"
>              <JJJRLandau at NETSCAPE.COM>
> Subject:      Suprachiasmatic nucleus (was: The r-word)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:19:09 -0500  Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Subject: Re: _The r-word_ (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> <quote>
> Speaking of savant-like tricks, I can't STAND to be awakened, to an
> extent that I can't possibly describe. So, if I know what time it is
> when I go to sleep, then I simply wake up at the required time, be it
> one hour later or twelve.
> </quote>
>
> Hardly unique to savants, autistic or otherwise.
>
> The brain contains a clock. It is in th region of the brain known as the
> "Suprachiasmatic nucleus".
>
> It is this part of the brain that controls the circadian rhythm in humans.
>
> According to Wikipedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm
> <quote>
> More recent research has shown that: adults have a built-in day, which
> averages about 24 hours; indoor lighting does affect circadian rhythms; and
> most people attain their best-quality sleep during their
> chronotype-determined sleep periods. A study by Czeisler et al. at Harvard
> found the range for normal, healthy adults of all ages to be quite narrow:
> 24 hours and 11 minutes ± 16 minutes. The "clock" resets itself daily to
> the 24-hour cycle of the Earth's rotation.
> </quote>
>
> There are easy tricks to access the time from one's suprachiasmatic
> nucleus.  One is to repeat to oneself before going to sleep "wake up at xx
> o'clock".  Wilson Gray has been doing this for so long that he no longer
> has to consciously specify a wake-up time.
>
>     - James A. Landau
>
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