Nobel Laureate Michael Young discovered something that might help people who stay up late, like your friends or even you!
What's a Night-Owl?
A night-owl is someone who likes to be awake at night and sleepy in the morning. It’s like when you play with your toys until midnight, but then you have to get up for school at 7 a. m., yikes!
Michael Young studied how our bodies know when it's time to sleep or wake up. He found that clock genes are part of what controls this cycle, almost like a tiny body clock inside us.
A Possible Cure
Imagine your body has a little timer, and it starts ticking when the sun goes down. If you’re a night-owl, maybe that timer is just a bit off, like if your alarm clock was set to ring at 10 p. m. instead of 9 p. m.!
Michael Young’s work might help people change their body clocks, like pressing a reset button so they can go to bed earlier and wake up easier in the morning.
It's not magic, but it could be the next best thing!
Examples
- A kid stays up late playing video games and feels tired in the morning, is there a way to fix that?
- Why do some people naturally prefer staying up late?
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See also
- How Does 2017 Nobel Prize for Circadian Rhythm Explained Work?
- How optimizing circadian rhythms can increase healthy years | Satchin Panda | TEDxBoston?
- What is Per2?
- Who is Nobel Laureate?
- What Makes You Tick: Circadian Rhythms?