世界上最古老的钟,最古老的钟( 二 ) _机械设备

The Salisbury Cathedral clock is but a wee whippersnapper when compared to the natural clocks that track our circadian rhythms. Scientists believe internal clocks evolved more than 3 billion years ago in cyanobacteria (what we also call blue-green algae), but they don't know exactly why it happened. Some say this was nature's way of leveling the playing field for organisms all competing for the same sources of energy. Circadian rhythms developed so that some creatures feed during the day and others do it at night. Others say the body clock evolved in algae to stagger the sludge's processes for photosynthesis—converting light into energy to be stored for later—and nitrogen fixation—in which plants convert nitrogen from the air into energy — so as not to counteract one another.
和记录我们昼夜节律的生物钟相比，索尔兹伯里大教堂里的钟根本是微不足道的。科学家认为在30亿年前的蓝细菌（我们称之为蓝藻）时期生物钟就开始演变了，但是科学家们并不知道生物钟开始的确切时间。有的人觉得这其实只是一种自然的竞争机制，因为所有的生物体都需要同样的能量。生物钟的存在确保了有些生物可以在白天觅食，有些可以在晚上觅食。而另外一些人认为在蓝藻时期就演变的生物钟利用光合作用缓慢发展，把光转换成能量，储存在身体后，又释放出氮化物，这样的话植物就把空气中的氮化物固定在体内了，以免消耗。
4.Sleep, It Does a Body Good
4.睡眠对身体有益
Perhaps the reason for circadian rhythms in humans is simpler: They help you sleep, and sleep is good for you.
或许，人类具有生物钟的原因很简单——生物钟有助于你入眠，而睡眠对你有益。
When you lay your head down and nod off to the feather ball, your body is restoring itself. That includes basic upkeep and repair like muscle growth, tissue maintenance, protein production and the release of growth hormones. Those hormones help children develop naturally — exhibit A in the case against little Johnny staying up to watch Jimmy Fallon — but also play a key role in helping adults rebuild tissue over time. In fact, it's believed that some of these functions only happen during sleep hours. Animals deprived of sleep will lose all immune function and die in just a few weeks. If you've ever popped out of bed after a nice long slumber and felt mentally refreshed, it's probably not just because you spent the night dreaming about being fanned and fed grapes by models poolside at an Italian villa. Sleep helps humans restore their mental energy and cognitive functions that often get tapped out during waking hours. Our circadian rhythms naturally make us sleepy at night.
当你安然平躺，枕着松软的枕头酣然入眠时，你的身体便开始进行自我修复，即一些基本的维护保养，如肌肉的增长、组织的修复、蛋白质的生成及生长激素的释放。生长激素对儿童的茁壮成长具有促进作用，总是熬夜看吉米·法伦节目的小不点儿就是个典型的反面例子。不仅如此，生长激素还在促进成年人的组织修复过程中起着关键作用。有分析认为，以上机能中有部分仅在睡眠时才起作用，因此，被剥夺睡眠的动物会丧失所有的免疫能力，在几周内死亡。你在经过了长时间的优质睡眠后会觉得精神焕发，或许不仅仅是因为置身豪宅、名模环绕的黄粱美梦之中。因为睡眠有助于恢复人们在清醒时消耗的心理能量及认知功能。而且，夜里那排山倒海的困意也是生物钟这只“幕后黑手”所致。
3.The Post-Lunch Dip is Natural
3.午餐后犯困很正常
Ever wonder why you have to fight the urge to sleep after lunch (unless you're lucky enough to work from home and can give into it)? Your body's circadian rhythm is in a natural resting place after your noontime meal. There's also another system called the sleep/wake homeostatis that tells your body when it's time to sleep, which also occurs after you've been awake for a long time. By 2 p.m., you've usually been awake for at least eight hours. Put those two systems together, alongside a heavy lunch, and it's no wonder you want to take a nap.