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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

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This review summarizes current knowledge regarding the effects of physical activity on the robustness of the circadian system and the benefits for health, performance, and wellbeing. We propagate practical implications of circadian activity rhythms for diagnosis and the advantages of scheduled motor activity.

Abstract

Circadian rhythms are an inherent property of all living systems and an essential part of the external and internal temporal order. They enable organisms to be synchronized with their periodic environment and guarantee the optimal functioning of organisms. Any disturbances, so-called circadian disruptions, may have adverse consequences for health, physical and mental performance, and wellbeing. The environmental light–dark cycle is the main zeitgeber for circadian rhythms. Moreover, regular physical activity is most useful. Not only does it have general favorable effects on the cardiovascular system, the energy metabolism and mental health, for example, but it may also stabilize the circadian system via feedback effects on the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), the main circadian pacemaker. Regular physical activity helps to maintain high-amplitude circadian rhythms, particularly of clock gene expression in the SCN. It promotes their entrainment to external periodicities and improves the internal synchronization of various circadian rhythms. This in turn promotes health and wellbeing. In experiments on Djungarian hamsters, voluntary access to a running wheel not only stabilized the circadian activity rhythm, but intensive wheel running even reestablished the rhythm in arrhythmic individuals. Moreover, their cognitive abilities were restored. Djungarian hamsters of the arrhythmic phenotype in which the SCN do not generate a circadian signal not only have a diminished cognitive performance, but their social memory is also compromised. Voluntary wheel running restored these abilities simultaneously with the reestablishment of the circadian activity rhythm. Intensively exercising Syrian hamsters are less anxious, more resilient to social defeat, and show less defensive/submissive behaviors, i.e., voluntary exercise may promote self-confidence. Similar effects were described for humans. The aim of the present paper is to summarize the current knowledge concerning the effects of physical activity on the stability of the circadian system and the corresponding consequences for physical and mental performance.

Details

Title
The Impact of Physical Activity on the Circadian System: Benefits for Health, Performance and Wellbeing
Author
Weinert, Dietmar 1 ; Gubin, Denis 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Institute of Biology/Zoology, Martin Luther University, 06108 Halle-Wittenberg, Germany 
 Laboratory for Chronobiology and Chronomedicine, Research Institute of Biomedicine and Biomedical Technologies, Medical University, 625023 Tyumen, Russia; Department of Biology, Medical University, 625023 Tyumen, Russia; Tyumen Cardiology Research Center, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Science, 634009 Tomsk, Russia 
First page
9220
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20763417
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2716492267
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.