Your immune cells don’t keep a steady watch. Like shift workers on a biological assembly line, they clock in and out throughout the day—surging during morning hours, retreating at night, following an internal rhythm that determines how well your body fights everything from the flu to cancer.
A growing number of researchers believe that understanding circadian rhythms could change modern medicine.
The Body’s Hidden Schedule
Interest in how circadian rhythms shape the immune system dates back more than 50 years, when researchers first noticed that white blood cell levels—cells that help fight infection—rise and fall throughout the day in healthy people. They also observed that animals respond differently to toxins depending on the time of exposure. The immune system, therefore, isn’t in constant operation, but follows a daily rhythm.
Zena le Roux
Author
Zena le Roux is a health journalist with a master’s in investigative health journalism and a certified health and wellness coach specializing in functional nutrition. She is trained in sports nutrition, mindful eating, internal family systems, and applied polyvagal theory. She works in private practice and serves as a nutrition educator for a UK-based health school.
