Overview
Circadian rhythm is the roughly 24-hour internal biological cycle that governs physiological, behavioral, and cognitive processes, coordinating the timing of sleep and wakefulness, hormone secretion, body temperature, appetite, and metabolism. Driven by a central clock in the brain and synchronized to environmental cues such as light and dark, it keeps the body's functions aligned with the day-night cycle; when this alignment is disrupted, the result can be sleep disorders and broader effects on health and performance. Research published in Sleep and Sleep Disorder Research and across allied journals illustrates the rhythm's reach. Studies have examined delayed sleep phase syndrome at the intersection of cultural characteristics and genetics in Brazilian and Japanese adults, explored the endocannabinoid system in relation to circadian rhythms and sleep regulation, and assessed how weekends and seasonal clock changes affect the sleep patterns of children with autism. Further work has evaluated circadian oscillators in cancer stem cells, measured diurnal variation in the core interthreshold zone and its sex differences, and considered melatonin in the context of breastfeeding and perinatal health, as well as molecular adaptation at high altitude. This page gathers peer-reviewed, open-access research relevant to circadian biology and its links to sleep and disease.
Research published in this journal
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
How this research is being cited
The 12 articles above have been cited 84 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
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2026 · BMC Geriatrics
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2026 · International Journal of Biometeorology
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2026 · BMC Public Health
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2026 · Journal of Affective Disorders
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J. Grijalva-Avila et al. · 2025 · Metabolites
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2025 · Metabolites
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2025 · Food Science & Nutrition
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Moderating Effect of Smartphone Use Between Loneliness and Bedtime Procrastination Among Adolescents2025 · Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Circadian Rhythm, linking to each citing work.